Author's Note: Wow, this is a long time coming. I've been reading on the site for years now, but I've never had the guts to post something of my own. Special thanks to my friend Fischer for giving me the idea to combine two of my favorite properties; the Cthulhu mythos and Teen Titans.

The Cthulhu Mythos were created by H.P. Lovecraft. Teen Titans and all associated characters and locations are the property of Warner Bros., DC Comics, etc.

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Prologue

The End of An Era

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"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all it's contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far."

-H.P. Lovecraft

'The Call of Cthulhu

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By the time the word officially got out via the six o'clock news, virtually everyone in Jump City already knew what had happened.

A Teen Titan was dead.

The news channels had been breaking into broadcasts sporadically throughout the day (much to the ire of some sports fans) to keep the viewers up-to-date on the non-stop battle between the Titans and their mysterious quarry, dubbed by the media as 'the Masked Monster.' As the day continued, it became evident that this was no simple battle for the heroes to overcome. The beast was simply too strong and too fast, keeping it constantly ahead of it's pursuers. It's ability to bond and copy whatever material it touched proved to be more than capable enough to constantly repel the young protectors. Shaky news-footage of one particular battle in the city's business district revealed an even more disturbing fact.

Beast Boy was missing in action.

Unconfirmed call-in sightings placed the green-skinned Titan everywhere from one of the local high schools to the abandoned amusement park on the outskirts of the city (which, coincidentally, had it's Ferris wheel destroyed in a freak accident.)

At last, the team seemed to have their foe cornered. 'The Masked Monster' was surrounded by the four present heroes, and the large area it was standing in made it impossible for it to bond and disappear. Just as it seemed the day was going to have it's usual happy ending… tragedy struck.

The creature apparently decided to attempt to bond with one of the Titans. Namely Cyborg. It can only be guessed that 'the Masked Monster' knew the position it was in, and was simply trying a desperation tactic. The cybernetic hero's internal defense mechanisms set to work immediately, trying to repel the invading monster, and ironically, this is what lead to his demise. The autopsy would later reveal that the systems, by trying to work at the monster's near supernatural speed, had shorted themselves out and drained the internal batteries in a matter of seconds. It's unlikely that Cyborg even knew that he was dying.

According to footage caught by the News 4 Chopper, the half formed Cyborg/Monster amalgamation fell, motionless, to the ground. The three remaining Titans moved forward, and their reactions left little room for doubt. As they walked, the three teens appeared concerned, but happy that the battle was, at long last, finished. Robin was the first to reach the figure, and the first to freeze.

Starfire, normally the most cheery and happy of the team, turned away in disbelief, then began wailing in agony as rivers of tears ran down her normally gorgeous face.

The normally reserved Raven's shoulders slumped, shifting slightly with her barely controlled sobs.

Robin simply sat motionless until he weakly reached over to close his friend's one human eye.

Cyborg, civilian name Victor Stone, was dead.

Beast Boy arrived two minutes later.

At this instant, the chopper's engine failed as a surge of dark energy from Raven swept over it, also shattering every window in a city block. Only the quick thinking of the pilot saved everyone on board.

If it weren't for a single high-school student with a camera phone, no one would know what happened next. The video, grainy as it is, clearly shows Beast Boy on the ground (presumably knocked back by Raven's energy) with Robin above him, raining punches into his face. Raven has vanished by this point. One sentence can be heard clearly as Starfire drags the enraged Boy Wonder away from the bleeding boy on the ground.

"WHERE… WERE… YOU?"

Suddenly, Robin rears back and full-on punches Starfire in the face, causing her to let him go. Without a look back, Robin says something to Starfire, turns, and leaves. Starfire, in momentary shock, lets him go. She then floats to the ground and tends to the still prone Beast Boy. At the one minute mark, the video ends. A second, briefer video was captured moments later. It simply shows Starfire helping Beast Boy to his feet and awaiting the arrival of the emergency personnel.

That would be the last time anyone ever saw the Teen Titans together.

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Watching the broadcast in her step-parent's living room, a young blonde girl with piercing blue eyes wept silently, but she did not know why. She supposed that it was just because she was so used to seeing the heroes save the day with no problems, it was simply shock at the sight of one felled so quickly.

A voice began to speak in her mind, very quietly at first. It said other things, other reasons as to why she was crying, but she did her best to ignore it.

She said nothing of this to her step-parents.

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In a prison cafeteria, a tall man sitting alone watched the broadcast with full concentration. His single green eye narrowed as he stroked his white goatee. What he had failed to do on so many occasions with so much careful planning had been done by a mindless beast that had simply been in the right place at the right time.

More than that, he felt a shocking sadness at the boy's death. True, he and the group had been mortal enemies for years, but on their last encounter they had been allies.

He made a mental note to have funds transferred to pay for the funeral before returning to his steak.

Another inmate moved to change the channel, but a glare from the man sent him scurrying.

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And deep beneath the ocean's waves, in a massive tomb on an island city that defied sanity and time, a great evil awakened, cast it's eyes upward… and waited.

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Author's Note: And so it begins. Remember, a little review never hurt anybody.