Okay, so here's the next tale. And hey, am I going insane, or are y'all not liking my stories? 'Cuz everyone either isn't reading 'em, or isn't liking them. Either way, let me know, okay? Seriously, a little feedback would be nice. Thanks.

Ultimate Teen Titans

Shades Of Scarlet

Chapter I

Déjà vu

Sing once again with me,

Our strange duet,

My power over you,

Grows stronger yet.

And though you turn from me,

To glance behind,

The Phantom Of The Opera is there,

Inside your mind.

It was dark, chilly, and wet in San Francisco.

Rain came down hard, the kind of weather you'd expect in Oregon, or Washington. Not here, in the GoldenState.

Nonetheless, it came down cats and dogs.

"I never understood that phrase," mumbled a black-haired girl, huddled under an umbrella with a tall, handsome young man. She really didn't need the umbrella, being very... very thick-skinned. "Dogs and cats."

"Cats and dogs, actually," the boy corrected. "Just a random Earth saying. It's not supposed to mean much."

The black-haired girl looked into his face, and if anyone were looking, they'd be struck by her beauty. There was concern on her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He grinned.

"Never felt better."

Seeming out of nowhere, another teen appeared, clad in nondescript clothing, brown hair carelessly flipped down his forehead. His brown eyes showed an age that didn't match the rest of his youthful face.

"Dang, still can't get used to that teleporting thingie," he grumbled, walking to stand next to the other boy. "How's things?"

"All quiet on the Western front," the taller teen reported. "How's things at the Tower?"

An ugly look came over the other's face.

"They've been remodeling."

"I'm sure Cyborg's thrilled."

The shorter boy stole a glance at the taller one's face. He saw the cold-blue eyes, the set jaw, and black hair that looked so much like his friend.

And then, without warning, an explosion ripped through the street. The teens reacted in an instant, throwing off their clothing, the boys pulling on masks.

The source of the explosion became apparent as a scarlet-clad figure came flipping through the streets. His gauntlet launcher was skill smoking.

He landed amongst fleeing citizens, silently surveying the damage. Not a word escaped him, but an evil chuckle could be heard if you stood close to him. Not that you'd want to. The black slits that were his eyes clearly said back off.

But that was one thing the Teen Titans would not do. Even an eclectic group of Titans such as Blackfire, Spider-Man, and Red X.

One Week Earlier

"Surprised, Nightwing?"

Nightwing stared into the face of Peter Parker, not believing what he was seeing, but not surprised by it either. He had pieced together the parts by now.

Red X was his clone.

Why not? He had heard tales of certain Justice League members being cloned. Of course, none of those clones had been perfect, and all of them had been evil before they inevitably died. But it wasn't too much to question that it could have happened to him.

But why him?

So the revelation that this Scarlet Spider was a clone of Spider-Man wasn't the big shocker it should have been. Of course, that didn't make it any less of a big deal.

"See, I figured you'd be more in awe than you're giving me," Scarlet Spider said, holding up his mask. "But I guess you've realized the identity of my brother..."

"Which brother?" Nightwing asked. "Spider-Man, or Red X?"

"Ah, see, that's what I mean." He began to walk toward Nightwing, pulling his mask on again. He raised his forearm gauntlet. "Shame to end it now, but..."

As he fired a small rocket, a jet of water hit him. Cyborg was concentrating his hose at him, and it knocked the missile off target.

Nightwing saw it in slow motion, the target, where the rocket would end up. A car, a taxi, with three people in it. Their faces displayed terror through the window, and Nightwing began to move.

He shot a hook from his grapple-gun, looping the line around the rocket, not sure how he managed to not trigger it.

He swung it around, feeling the line pull as the missile tried to get away from him. He wouldn't let it. He couldn't.

With a Herculean effort, he redirected the rocket to aim downward into the water. It disappeared for a second, and then illuminated the water as it detonated.

Nightwing's arms trembled from the exertion, but he turned to face the Scarlet Spider. The guy had come a lot closer, and as Nightwing raised his arms in defense, he attacked.

Whoa.

Nightwing was shocked at how perfectly exact this guy was to Peter. He fought with the same agility, the same speed, the same strength. He seemed to even have the spider-sense, as Nightwing never seemed to be able to land a hard blow on him. He twisted and turned and Nightwing wasn't sure he'd be able to beat him.

Come on, you've sparred with Peter. You know his moves.

But the fact of the matter was, he didn't. Because Peter didn't have moves. He just went with whatever worked, a strange combo of blows that always hurt Dick's fighting heart.

And that's when it hit him. Two things... one, was that this Scarlet Spider lacked Peter's ability to change tactics in the middle of a battle. The other thing was a fist in his chest.

"Oof!" he gasped, feeling all of the air leave his chest. He back-rolled away from him, clutching his chest, trying to breathe some air back in his lungs.

Normally, Peter would have something sarcastically witty to say. But the Scarlet Spider was silent.

Nightwing didn't have long to contemplate this. A jet of water came out of nowhere, and hit the Scarlet Spider on the side, sweeping him off his feet.

"Booyah!" yelled Cyborg. "Take that, foo'!"

Nightwing rushed to the side of the bridge, peering cautiously over the edge. The Scarlet Spider was gone.

Boy, did he have some news to break to Peter.

But, of course, he still didn't know what to say when he saw Red X again...