Flaring Tempers III

In a toxic chemical processing plant, Plasmis begins to chug barrel after barrel of chemicals, causing his purple sludge form to grow exponentially. It is only after his latest drink is ruptured by a laser bolt that he turns to see the team through the hole in the barrel.

"That stuff can't be good for you." Robin quips while standing in a hole in the factory's wall.

Plasmis tosses away the burst barrel with a belch.

"Nice one!" The green boy calls out before Plasmis begins to launch his sludge all around the factory causing the team to split up and dodge away.

"Star! Let'em have it!" Robin calls out to Starfire while landing on a large crate.

Gasping after sending a laser bolt through Plasmis' body, Starfire exclaims, "Did I let him have too much?"

Inhaling deeply, Plasmis heals the gaping hole in his chest, as the green boy says, "I'm thinking not enough."

Plasmis then launches sludge at Starfire only for the purple cloaked girl to narrowly knock her out of the way.

"Maybe he just needs to chill!" Robbin quips while throwing a cryo grenade, completely freezing Plasmis' left arm.

After shattering his frozen arm, Plasmis goes into a battle rage, requiring Starfire, the blue cloaked girl, and the green boy to work simultaneously to keep Plasmis in check, using laser bolts, a pterodactyl form, and dark magic, to restrain him, before Robin leaps into the fray as he gets his legs and hand embedded in the sludge.

"Come on! Let me go you giant zit!" Robin shouts.

Roaring, Plasmis launches Robin out in a flood of sludge that also entraps the green boy.

"Robin!" Starfire shouts while rushing over to Robin with concern.

"I'm okay... Sort of." Robin replies, wiping slime out of his hair and spitting some out of his mouth.

"And I thought Star's pudding tasted bad!" The green boy whines while spitting the sludge out of his mouth.

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A screen displaying Plasmis' rampage reveals the outline of three figures.

"Disappointing... With one Titan missing this is almost too easy. I was expecting more of a challenge. Cinderblock, begin phase three." The masked man muses before ordering the stone giant away.

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A large pile of sludge slushes away to reveal Starfire who complains, "Ugh, I feel like the underside of a Zornian muck beetle."

Emerging from the sludge beside her, the purple cloak girl replies, "Tell me about it."

"Dude! I am not on the menu!" The green boy screams while running away from Plasmis, allowing Robin to tie him up in a trip wire.

"Maybe the best way to take you down... Is to tie you up!" Robin shouts as the green boy transforms into a rhino to knock Plasmis over for Starfire and the purple-cloaked bend nearby girders to restrain him.

"We did it!" Starfire shouts jubilantly.

"Nice work team!" Robin agrees.

"Didn't think we'd pull it off without-" The green boy stops as he is elbowed in the ribs by the purple cloaked girl.

"We finished just in time, Cinderblock has been spotted downtown. Come on!" Robin orders, but just as the team begins to leave, Plasmis dissolves and reforms into several separate forms, an octopus, a crab, a serpent, a dog, and a beetle-like form takes his place.

"Uhhh... Heads up." The green boy calls out. Causing them all to rush into a separate room of the factory, where they push against the metal door behind them when the green boy says with worry, "Four against five... Not good odds."

"Forget the odds, we need a plan!" Robin says with determination, as octoplasmis begins to breach the door causing Starfire to scream in terror as Robin orders, "Titans! Separate!" Causing them all to split up in different directions.

Snakeplasmis dodges Starfire's laser bolts before locking her in a constrictor hold. Dogplasmis initially restrains the green boy's cheetah form before entering fist-to-jaw combat with his gorilla form. Octoplasmis avoids the traps the purple-cloaked girl left in her wake to surprise her when lunging in front of her. Robin leaps onto a conveyor belt with the beetleplasmis as he attempts to hold it at bay with his martial arts.

Snakeplasmis is blown apart by Starfire, before it reforms as crabplasmis orders the ones restraining the green boy and purple cloaked girl to return, leaving them all with looks of despair.

Robin and beetleplasmis' duel has now been conveyed over vats of toxic acid. Where beetleplasmis is able to pin Robin down as they both approach the end of the track when Robin is finally able to knock beetleplasmis over the edge and can clasp the last roller. But not before beetleplasmis is able to lock onto Robin's shoe with a vice-like grip. Straining the roller to its max before it finally gives way and the two tumble down towards the vat of toxic chemicals.

Until at the very last moment a blue and titanium hand reacts forth from the darkness to pull Robin from the clutches of the vat... With beetleplasmis not being as lucky.

"I still got the sonic, if you still got the boom?" Cyborg asks an out-of-breath Robin with a smile. Making Robin look up with a smile.

"Teen Titans! Go!" They both shout in unison while aiming their combo attack at crabplasmis, knocking him out cold and disintegrating the rest of his forms, and freeing their friends.

After which the prison is called and they dispatch a containment team to bring Plasmis in.

As Robin and Cyborg watch over the containment team bringing Plasmis away, Robin mumbles, "Look... Um... Sorry about..."

"Yeah," Cyborg says back.

"Sooo... Are we cool?" Robin asks hesitantly.

"Frosty," Cyborg says, offering up a fist bump, to which Robin responds in kind.

"You made up! Glorious! I wish to initiate a group hug!" Starfire comments joyously.

"Pass." The purple-cloaked girl says, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, warm fuzzies all around! But we still gotta stop Cinderblock!" The green boy exclaims.

"No, we don't, had a new friend pick you guys up a present. In case, you were still mad." Cyborg says with a smirk as Cinderblock is hoisted onto a prison retrieval truck and Ditto in Cyborg form stands beside it with a grin as big as a fisherman who caught a shark. Making the team pause and look between the two in silence, as Ditto walks over to the group saying, "Wassup?"

"Hold up... Since when did you make a second you?" The green boy asks with a look of disbelief.

"I am also perplexed as to why you did not mention that you had a brother." Starfire ponders aloud with confusion.

"Yeah, Cyborg. What's going on?" Robin asks, turning towards the second Cyborg.

"Yeah, it's probably best if they show you. Team, meet Ditto. Ditto, this is Robin, Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire." Cyborg says with a smile.

Slowly walking over to the team, Ditto walks over to Beast Boy and ruffles his hair for a few minutes before shifting into him, as they both say, "Woah, dude! You're me!" Making all but Cyborg's eyes go wide in shock. Before Beast Boy transforms into a ferret, only for Ditto to do the same and begin to chase him around Starfire's feet.

"There are two furred Beast Boys now! Hurray!" Starfire cheers as she stares at the two wrestle.

"Oh, joy... Twice as much animal hair in the tower." Raven sighs.

Hearing this, Ditto stops fooling around and transforms back into Beast boy's human form, causing ferret Beast boy to stop and catch his breath.

"I don't want to impose on you guys, I just happened to bump into Cy when I was out doing my vigilante thing. We hit it off, before starting to hit each other and got that alert before rushing over. I can leave if you guys are busy?" Ditto offers a bit meekly.

Cyborg calls the team over for a quick huddle, "Look, guys, they're sort of wandering out there all alone with no home... And I gotta say, their power is pretty amazin', stood toe to toe with me for a few hours."

"They have no place to call home? How could we not let them into our abode?" Starfire says pleadingly.

"Squeak, squeak... Sorry, aside from them trying to copy perfection, they seem pretty chill." Beast Boy begins to comment before realizing he was still in ferret form.

"Do whatever, I don't care, just keep them out of my room," Raven says with a huff.

"What's their past? Are they dangerous?" Robin asks with some concern.

"They've got amnesia, and aside from making a perfect copy, they can only hold one form at a time and it is triggered by touch, so if it comes to it... It'd only be like fighting one of us..." Cyborg says letting the implications hang in the air.

"... Alright, they can stay for a bit, but it's only a short probation. They aren't part of the team, yet." Robin concedes after deliberating for a moment, as the group splits up to see Ditto quickly shift their ear back from being an elephant's and begins to whistle inconspicuously. Causing Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire to laugh quietly, as Robin says, "You're welcome to crash at our place for a few days, while you get settled in the city. Bring your stuff over to Titan's Tower when you're ready."

"Thank you sooo much! And there's no need, I've got everything on me... Or more accurately I've got nothing on me. Hehehe..." Ditto gives an awkward laugh before asking, "So, are we ready to head out?"

"Almost, but there's one thing still bothering me…" The pause caused the rest of the team to nearly panic before Robin continued, "Breaking into jail, using Plasmis to distract us, the whole plan seems to be a little too smart for Cinderblock." Robin ponders aloud.

"I've been thinkin' the same thing." Cyborg agrees.

"Someone must've been pulling the strings, but who?" Robin asks aloud.

"Well, whoever they are, they're no match for the Teen Titans!" Cyborg says, racing his hand for a high five.

"I heard that!" Robin cheers with a high five of his own.

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A teacup is smashed against the arm of a clockwork throne before a replacement tea cup is filled and offered to a masked man.

"Next time my plans will succeed! And the Titans will pay!" The masked man monologues in anger, before the world, fades to black...