Huntress hated the fact that she was hiding, but she was trusting her friends to deal with Clayface, just like Robin had asked. She wanted to go down and help them fight the monster, but reluctantly admitted that he was right. Clayface was after her, and they couldn't fight him and keep her safe at the same time.
"I don't need to be kept safe," she grumbled irritably.
Yet she had agreed to let them take care of the threat all the same. However, she still refused to leave the Tower. If Clayface managed to beat her friends and couldn't find her, she knew he would kill them instead. But if she knew Clayface like she thought she did, as long as she was still in the Tower, if he did manage to beat them, he would use them to get to her to come out of hiding, and she would get chance to save them.
"Come on, guys," she whispered, "you can do it."
Her fingers tapped against her side impatiently as she waited. She had a shuriken in one hand and her pole in the other, ready in case it was Clayface that came in. She had faith in her friends, they were each very powerful in their own right, but Clayface was so... unique. It seemed impossible to damage him at all. How do you defeat someone with a body like his?
"Air tight jar," she quietly theorized out loud. "Deep freeze him. Would that even work?"
The sound of a door opening brought her out of her thoughts, and she tensed up, ready for anything. But then she heard Robin call out to her. "Helena, you still there? It's ok, you can come out now?"
She raised an eyebrow at this and looked out of the grates of the air duct she was hiding in. She saw not only Robin, but the rest of the team, minus Cyborg, who was still missing. They had to find out what Clayface did with him. She hoped he was ok.
"Helena," said Starfire, "it is safe. Raven opened a portal and sent him away."
The Azarathian nodded. "He won't be coming back any time soon."
"We're going to call Batman and Catwoman," Blue Beetle added. "Your mother would want to know you're alright."
Scowling slightly. Huntress kicked open the air duct and dropped down. "What about you guys? You all ok?"
Beast Boy gave her a thumbs up. "You bet. Old Clayface was no match for the Teen Titans."
Robin motioned her over. "Come on, let's call Batman."
Huntress stared at him for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, sure, just one thing."
Quick as lightning, she threw several shuriken, each one striking a different Titan in vital places. There was no blood anywhere, but the area around the shuriken had turned a brown mud color.
Huntress glared. "I wouldn't fall for your lame ass impersonation a second time."
All five phony Titans scowled at her. They liquefied and came together, forming Clayface, and the shuriken seeped out of his body, leaving him unharmed. "How'd you know?"
Huntress snorted. "You can imitate appearances, but there's some things you missed. Speeches patterns for one, accents, behaviors, body language. My friends have different traits that are exclusive to them that your copies lacked. Also, I could sense your hostility." She sniffed with her extra sensitive nose. "And then there's personal hygiene to consider. But besides all of that," she twirled around her pole, "your Robin copy didn't say the code word to let me know it's safe. That's a basic precaution, dumbass."
Clayface looked surprised, but then he chuckled. "Very cute. But if you knew, then why did you come out?"
Behind her mask, Huntress glared at him. "To find out what you did with my friends."
A sadistic grin crept up the clay monster's face. "They've been taken care of. It's just you and me now."
Her grip on her pole tightened as she tried not to think about the worst-case scenario. She had to keep a calm and collective mind if she was going to take him down. "About time."
She charged at Clayface. The giant monster's arms stretched out and became large, thick blades. He swiped at Huntress, but she flipped over the blade and whacked him in the head with her pole. It disfigured his head, but it immediately reformed, and he swiped at her again. She ducked beneath the first blade, then leapt back as he stabbed at her with the second, but then he surprised her when a flood of clay flowed out of his stomach and wrapped around her waist.
Clayface brought his blade arm down, and she raised her pole, blocking the blow. He struck again with the other one, sending sparks flying with each impact. Huntress' arms quickly began to ache with every blow, and she wasn't sure how much longer she would be able to hold off his attacks.
As he raised one blade and prepared to bring down the other, Huntress' hand went to her belt and grabbed a gas grenade. She tossed it in the air, and it exploded, surrounding them both in cloud of smoke. Grabbing at her belt again, she pulled free a clay cutting wire and whipped it out around the tendrils of clay wrapped around her, slicing herself free. Jumping up, she delivered a blow to his face with her knee, and the monster stumbled back.
Back-flipping, she put some space between her and her assailant. Pulling out her crossbow, she fired several arrows into the clay monster. Clayface snarled, his blade arms changing back to normal. He punched outward, his fist flying off his knuckle and hardening into rock. Huntress cartwheeled to the side as the giant stone fist broke through the wall.
Realizing that her crossbow was useless, she tossed it aside and grabbed at a stun grenade. Tossing it into the air, she kicked it at Clayface, and it struck him with enough force to get stuck in his body. She took cover as it went off, and heard Clayface cry out. Jumping up the moment it died down, she pulled out a Taser and fired it at him. It buried into his chest, but the electricity didn't seem to affect him. She wished she had more of the nerve toxin meant for Bane, but had only taken a small sample from the Batcave. Then again, it might not even affect him.
Reaching up, Clayface pulled the cable free, then lashed out at her, his arm turning into a flood of clay. She jumped aside, and he lashed out with his other one. She jumped over this and charged towards him, jumping up and delivering a punch to his lower jaw.
She realized she made a mistake a moment later as Clayface simply liquefied on top of her. Her reformed with her in his grasp, holding her out with his giant hands around her. She cried out and began kicking, but he was out of reach of her legs, and her arms were pinned to her side as he squeezed her.
"The doctor thought your body was so special," Clayface taunted, "but I'm about to break it."
He was struck from behind, Robin's sword slicing through his shoulder. A star-bolt struck his other shoulder, and his arms fell away. Huntress slipped out of his limp grasp and hopped away as Clayface turned around to see that all the Titans were all conscious once more. A growl escaped him as they surrounded him on all sides.
"Miss us, ugly?" Beast Boy asked.
"Time for some payback," Robin told him.
Clayface growled again, his severed arms slipping into his body and growing back. "I should have just killed you all earlier." He looked at Robin and scowled. "And how the hell are you alive?"
The Boy Wonder smirked arrogantly. "Looks like this bird can fly after all."
Clayface cracked his knuckles. "This time I'll make sure you fly away to Heaven. You and your friends."
Huntress whistled to him. "Hey, blobby, I'm the one you're after."
He looked back at her. "Your death I'll enjoy the most."
Robin pulled his sword back to strike. "If anyone is going to die tonight, it's you."
He charged forward. Clayface threw a punch, but Robin avoided the blow and slashed his arm with his sword. A star-bolt struck him from behind, and he turned to the Tamaranean. His arm transformed into giant a spiky metal bat, and he raised it over his head, only to have a beam of darkness strike his lower back. He fell to his knees, and turned to Raven, but one of Huntress' exploding shuriken hit him in his forehead and exploded. He fell back, and Blue Beetle blasted him with an energy beam.
Roaring, his entire body reshaped itself until he was on his feet again, and he lunged for Blue Beetle. Instead, Beast Boy's gorilla fist slammed into his jaw, knocking him back. Robin struck him from behind, slicing through one of his legs, and Clayface fell to one knee. Starfire shot her eye-beams, hitting him in the back of his head, and two green beams flew out of his mouth, having gone straight through his head. Blue Beetle blasted him again, firing a much larger beam from his chest, and blowing apart Clayface's torso. He fell to the ground in a pile, and Raven launched an aura of darkness from her body at him.
Clayface was pinned to the ground by the Azarathian's magic. His face twisted with fury, and he let out a bellow of rage. He pulled all his clay together, and his body expanded before all but blowing apart. Clay went flying everywhere, covering everything in the room, including the Titans. It clung to them, and then came back together, forming a brown flood. It moved about the room, dragging the Titans with it, crashing into walls and furniture.
A dark form rose up from the brown mass, taking the form of a raven. It spread its wings out, and Clayface's shapeless form was torn apart, splattering him across the floor and walls. The Titans were encased in a protective shield of shadow, protecting them from the monster. The clay came together, forming two separates Clayfaces half the size of the original. They walked over to each other and merged into one being again, and Raven let the barrier drop as they braced themselves for another round.
"Seriously," said Beast Boy, "what's it going to take to stop this guy?"
Clayface's scowl became an arrogant sneer. "You can't stop me. Nothing can."
"I can," Robin declared, and charged at him again. He jumped up and brought his sword down. Clayface just raised his arm to block, his arm turning to metal. Much to Robin's surprise, his blade snapped in two, the broken end flying through the air and burying in the wall.
Clayface chuckled, and lowered his arm. His entire head liquefied, and flowed out in a geyser, covering Robin and carrying him across the room, slamming him into the wall hard enough to crack it. He fell to the ground, clutching his side, an agonized groan escaping him. He looked badly hurt.
"No!" Raven cried, holding her arms out. Several bits of furniture rose into the air, engulfed in black light, but before she could throw any of them, a second geyser erupted from Clayface's chest. She dropped the furniture in favor of a shield, and the clay stream splattered against it. The shield protected her, but pushed her back until she hit the wall.
Both Starfire and Blue Beetle fired upon Clayface. The monster's entire body suddenly liquefied, the beams passing by above him, and he flowed towards the Titans, raising up in a giant wave. Beast Boy transformed into a bird and flew out of the way, as did Starfire and Blue Beetle. A large clay tentacle rose out of the flood and struck Starfire from below, slamming her into the ceiling. The tentacle lashed out and coiled around Blue Beetle's leg and threw him across the room.
Beast Boy transformed into a lion, landing on the giant tentacle, and chomped down on it. Clayface reformed and looked at the green lion now biting his arm. He tore him off and slammed him to the ground. Beast Boy suddenly transformed into an elephant and rose up onto his hind legs. He came down again, crushing Clayface beneath his front legs.
The clay monster simply liquefied before erupting into a powerful geyser, pushing the green elephant back and sending him crashing through the wall into the next room. When he attempted to get up, a giant clay fist with steel knuckles slammed into his face, knocking the elephant back down.
As Clayface reformed, Raven decided to try a different tactic. Summoning up her power, she opened a portal behind Clayface, fully intending to send him away. He turned to it, scowling, and a black light suddenly surrounded him, dragging him towards the portal.
Clayface realized what she was trying to do and glared at her. "I ain't going nowhere, bitch."
He threw a punch, his fist turning into solid metal. Raven put up a shield, but couldn't create one strong enough while maintaining the portal. It shattered upon impact, though still managing to protect her from the blow, but still knocking her off her feet. The metal hand became clay once more and grabbed her leg. Chuckling, Clayface pulled her towards him and threw her through the portal she had created.
"So long, little witch," he chuckled as the portal closed behind her.
Something hit the back of his head, another shuriken from the feel of it, and an exploding one at that. As his head reformed, he turned back to Huntress, who was glaring at him.
"Where did you send her?" she demanded.
A chuckle escaped him as he saw that she was the only one standing. "Only she knows that." He grinned and marched towards her, mockingly motioning for her to come at him. "Now, come to your death."
A groan drew her attention, and she glanced at her friends. They were getting to their feet, looking pretty beat up, but still willing to fight. An angry snarl escaped her as she threw Clayface a dirty look. "You're going to pay for hurting my friends."
He chuckled again. "You mean like this?"
He stretched his arm out, swinging it around the room. Huntress ducked beneath it, but it struck Robin, Starfire, and Blue Beetle, knocking them off their feet again. With an angry cry, Huntress charged at Clayface. She threw three shuriken, and Clayface cried out as the first two buried in each of his eyes. The third one hit his chest, and began beeping with a red light. A moment later, it exploded, blowing apart a portion of Clayface's upper-body.
As Clayface stumbled back, Huntress jumped at him, kicking outward. Her foot collided with his chest, knocking him further back, but this proved to be a mistake. Huntress' entire leg suddenly sank into Clayface's body, and she felt herself being sucked in. Using her pole, she stabbed into his body, only to have it sucked out of her hands and spit out his back.
She cried out as she was submerged up to her stomach, and began punching at his clay body to no avail. "Let me go, you big ugly freak!"
Clayface chuckled as his body remolded itself into its natural shape once again, pulling Huntress in deeper. "Now why would I do that," he asked with a grin as the shuriken slide out of his eyes, the milky white spheres having reformed as if they had never been punctured, "when I have you right where I want you?"
She punched him again, her fist sinking into his body, only this time she was unable to pull it out. She tried reaching for her utility belt, but it was submerged into his clay flesh, and she couldn't reach anything on it. A tendril of clay extended from his body and wrapped around her other arm, pulling that one in too. Huntress struggled as she was sucked deeper into his body until only her head was sticking out. Clay snaked across her face, sliding over her nose and mouth, and Huntress found herself unable to breathe. She struggled harder, but it was impossible to escape.
"Let her go!" Starfire shouted as she rose into the air, holding up a hand glowing with green energy. Beside her, Blue Beetle stood at the ready, preparing to fire a blast of energy.
Clayface just chuckled as he turned to them. Inside his body, he shifted Huntress so she was directly in front if him, using her as a shield. "Go ahead, shoot me; I'll just reform. But as amazing as our little Huntress' healing is, I don't think she'll be able to recover as easily as I can."
Starfire and Blue Beetle hesitated, realizing he was right. They couldn't fire at him without hurting Huntress in the process. Clayface grinned and lashed out at them, his arm once again extending into a giant tentacle. It slammed into both Starfire and Blue Beetle, knocking them across the room and sending them crashing into the wall.
As Clayface chuckled, Huntress continued to struggle, but her movements grew weaker and weaker as he continued to smother her. Grinning, he glanced down at his chest, where only a portion of Huntress face was still visible. Her eyes began fluttering open and close as she began to lose consciousness.
"That's right," Clayface whispered, "don't fight it. It's almost over now. But don't worry, you'll be seeing your friends again real soon. Just let go."
Her movements stopped, and her eyes drifted shut as she finally passed out. Clayface chuckled as he looked down at his victim's still form, feeling as her heartbeat slowly grew weaker.
"Get your filthy hands off my sister!"
Clayface turned to see Robin on his feet. He grinned at the boy mockingly. "Why don't you come over here and make me, little bird."
The Boy Wonder's eyes narrowed. "Fine then."
He threw a Batarang, but it didn't hit Clayface. Instead, it stabbed into the ceiling above him. Clayface just laughed at the bad throw, sneering at the boy. But Robin's aim had been right on the mark. He had long since studied and memorized the layout of Titan Tower, knowing where everything was. And the Batarang he had thrown was also a small explosive, and when it went off, it blew a hole in the ceiling, blasting open the pipe in it.
Water came pouring out, spilling over Clayface. The monster cried out and backed away as his body unwillingly liquefied, unable to hold its shape. Most of his right side lost its form, and Huntress slipped free, dropping to the ground in a puddle of water and wet clay.
"Damn you!" Clayface roared, trying to pull his body together. He looked back at Huntress' unconscious form, wanting to reach for her, but the water continued to pour on her, threatening to liquefy him further if he touched it. Instead, he raised his hand, forming a giant metal sludge hammer to smash the girl.
Robin charged forward. He slid across the floor, using the water to help him move along, and protectively covered his sister with his body. Clayface grinned and brought down his sludge hammer fist. Only his arm didn't move from where it was. He looked up to see that it was consumed with black light. His gaze shifted to the other side of the room where Raven was emerging from a portal, her hands glowing with black magic.
"Blast him!" she shouted to the others.
Having recovered from the blow, Starfire flew up into the air and fired star-bolts from her hands and eyes. They struck Clayface, pushing him backwards until he slammed into one of the many giant windows aligning the outside of Titan Tower. The glass cracked behind him, but held.
Grinding his teeth together furiously, Clayface slowly turned to face Starfire as her star-bolts continued pushing against him. "Alien bitch."
With great effort, he took a step forward, then another, the green beams of energy slowing his movements. Starfire's face twisted with concentration, and she unleashed more power. Clayface struggled against the beams for a few seconds before he began making his way towards her again.
Groaning, Blue Beetle climbed to his feet. Stumbling forward, he made his way over to Starfire. Standing beside her, he fired a blast of energy. Clayface was blasted back once again, cracking the window further. The beams kept coming, the window cracking behind him more and more as he was pressed against it. Raven fired her own beam of dark energy at him, and the window behind him cracked some more.
Down on the ground, Robin was dragging Huntress away from the monster. Clayface saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, his face twisting with fury. With great effort, he pushed himself off the window, but was unable to close the distance with the three beams coming at it.
A familiar boom was heard behind the three attacking Titans. A circle of swirling energy appeared in the air, and someone came through. Clayface's eyes widened in shock at what he saw. "You!?"
Cyborg held up his weapon. "Me."
He fired, and a fourth beam of energy joined the other three, colliding with Clayface and pushing him back. This time the glass shattered as he slammed against it, and Clayface grabbed the window frame, preventing himself from being blasted out of the Tower. The four Titans continued to fire, but Clayface slowly pulled himself back inside.
Leaping through the elephant-sized hole in the wall, something sped across the room. Moving at its full 75 miles per hour, a green cheetah raced towards Clayface. When he was mere feet away from him, Beast Boy transformed into a triceratops, still moving at cheetah speed from his previous form's momentum. Clayface's expression turned to one of surprised horror as the green dinosaur came at him, and he was unable to defend himself.
Two figures, one green and one brown, went flew out of the Tower. Clayface cried out as he soared through the air, the impact sending him flying. He splashed down into the ocean, disappearing beneath the waves. He resurfaced a few moments later, his body melting apart. Crying out, he struggled to swim as he began to liquefy, chunks of him falling off.
Splashing about, he went under again, and came up even more disfigured, his eyes and mouth shifting across his face, his head losing its shape more and more as he went under again. He came up a third time, barely, his mouth now nothing more than a large gaping hole, his head a shapeless mass with only a single eye, and his two misshapen hands flailing about. Once more he went under, only this time a few shapeless chunks floated to the surface, breaking apart more and more before sinking below the surface and disappearing completely.
A green sparrow fluttered back through the broken window and turned into Beast Boy once more. He clapped his hands together, as if having completed an unpleasant job, and smiled at the others. "He's all washed up."
"Help!" Robin shouted, holding Huntress' still form. "She's not breathing!"
The rest of the Titans gathered around. He was right, Huntress was still unconscious, and her face was beginning to turn blue from lack of oxygen. Blue Beetle looked at her worriedly, his armor moving away from his face. "What do we do? Should we give her CPR?"
Raven moved forward, pushing him aside with her magic. "Move." She knelt down by the younger girl's side, placing her hands on her forehead. "She's still alive. I can resuscitate her."
"Hurry!" Robin insisted, unable to keep the fear out of his voice.
Closing her eyes, Raven poured her power into Huntress. "By the power of Azarath, I beseech you. Mother spirit of the nether realm, save my sister. Bring her back to us. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
Blackness flowed from her hands and over Huntress, once, twice, three times, four. Huntress' eyes suddenly snapped open and she took a deep breath. She broke out into a coughing fit as her lungs started working again. A blob of clay slid out of her mouth, glowing with Raven's black light, and she sent it out the window and into the ocean.
Huntress continued taking large gulps of air before she finally began to settle down. Robin placed her on her side in the recovery position, letting her body begin to function again normally. Her breathing slowly returned to normal, and she looked up at them. Her mouth moved, but she didn't seem to be able to find her voice, and instead reached out.
Robin took her hand. His finger automatically sought out her pulse, but he was unable to feel it beneath her glove or his, but she seemed to be calming down. While he knew how to provide First Aid, something was telling him that he wouldn't have been able to clear out that last bit of clay using the standard procedure. Thank God for Raven.
Looking up at her with hooded eyes, Huntress managed a weak smile. "I thought you didn't care."
Robin was glad his mask was in place as he tried to keep his expression neutral. "Yeah, well, I guess you grew on me a bit."
"Mmm," she muttered. "You called me 'sister'. That's the first time you called me your sister."
"Well, you are. Half-sister anyway."
Beast Boy made a pfft noise. "Dude, just admit it. You love her."
Robin glared at him. "Watch it, Gar." He looked back at Huntress. "By the way, sorry I slapped you earlier."
A small chuckle escaped her. "Yeah, well, I guess I deserved it. Never do it again though."
Starfire was visibly relieved to see that Huntress was doing ok. "I am glad you are well, but we should be sure. Cyborg, can you check her vitals."
The former football player stepped forward. "Sure thing. A quick scan ought to do it."
Huntress looked up at him, and her eyes widened as she saw the damage he had sustained. She bolted into a sitting position, her eyes locked on his chest. "Cyborg, you have a hole in your chest!"
He looked down and placed a hand over the hole. "It's not so bad. Nothing a few repairs can't fix." His face fell, and a look of guilt crossed his features as his red eye scanned Huntress' body, not detecting any danger. "I'm sorry about this, guys. I was the one that let Clayface in."
Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Cyborg, it is not your fault. Clayface was a master deceiver. He fooled us all."
Huntress nodded. "Yeah, I should have sensed he wasn't you the moment he entered the Tower."
"As should I," Raven replied. "We all let our guard down."
"We were overconfident," Robin corrected irritably. "We need to be more careful in the future."
A chuckle escaped Huntress, and she reached up and flicked his head. "I knew you'd be the overprotective big brother type."
Scowling slightly, he pushed her hand away. "Don't push your luck." He looked back at Cyborg. "How is she?"
He flashed the boy a smile. "She'll be just fine."
Huntress smirked and stood up. "Accelerated healing, remember?" She frowned. "Although, healing doesn't do much good against being smothered."
Robin stood up as well. "You can thank Raven for saving you."
"And you," the Azarathian pointed out. "You got her away from Clayface."
"Allowing us to totally kick butt!" Beast Boy declared, punching the air.
Starfire smiled at her team proudly "It was a team effort. I am very proud of all of you. We took down Clayface together."
Huntress bashfully reached up hand began tugging on a lock of her hair. "About that. Um, I just wanted to say... well, thanks a lot you guys. I would have been a goner without you."
Jaime smiled. "Hey, we're a team. That's what teammates do. They look out for each other."
A smile crept up Huntress' face, but her bottom lip began trembling slightly. She sniffled as tears threatened to escape her, and she reached up to rub her eyes.
A look of concern crossed Starfire's face, and she bent down to her level. "Helena, what is wrong?" She looked over her shoulder at Cyborg. "You're sure you didn't detect anything wrong?"
Huntress shook her head. "It's not that. It's just... I've never had any real friends before. Not like you guys. Not like... like..." She rubbed her eyes some more. "You guys are the best friends anyone could ask for. For the longest time, it's just been Mom and me. Then there was Dad and Damian, and Dick and Alfred, and now... now..."
The Tamaranean smiled and pulled her into a hug. "And now you have us."
"Yeah!" Beast Boy cried, transforming into a large bear. "Group hug!"
He wrapped them all up in his furry arms, even Cyborg. Robin's eye twitched in annoyance as his face was flattened against the changeling's fuzzy green chest. "Garfield, if you don't let me go right now, I'm taking off your arms."
"I second that," Raven replied in a monotone voice.
Beast Boy immediately released them and changed back, holding his hands up. "Just trying to share the love. We did totally save the day. Case closed."
"Indeed," Starfire agreed. She turned to Huntress. "We should inform your parents. I'm sure they will be relieved to know that the danger has passed." She frowned slightly, looking out the broken window, then back at Beast Boy. "The danger has passed, has it? You're certain?"
The changeling nodded. "Oh, yeah, totally. He completely went to pieces in the water. Just, blahhhhh, melted apart."
Raven closed her eyes, reaching out with her power. "He's right, he's gone. Either dead or so disassembled that he can no longer function. Either way, his presence has completely vanished."
"Thank God," Huntress muttered. She breathed deeply. "I can already smell the sweet air of freedom."
Beast Boy grinned broadly. "Dudes, do you know what this means?"
"No," Jaime replied, "but I get the feeling you're going to tell us."
"It means, now we've got twice as much partying to do!"
He transformed into a seal and began clapping. Robin raised an eyebrow at this. "I think the partying will have to wait a few days."
Changing back, Beast Boy frowned. "What? Why?"
The Boy Wonder simply gestured to the mess left behind from their battle with Clayface, and that was only in this room. Beast Boy's ears drooped as he realized that cleanup duty was going to be more difficult than the actual fight. "Dude, you're such a killjoy."