Chapter Two: A Second Stroke of Death

It was early in the morning when a loud alarm sounded through Titans Tower. I knew what it meant; it meant that there was trouble going on in the city right now. A few seconds later, we all gathered at the tower entrance prepared for whoever we were going up against. Robin told us that there was a break-in at a tech company downtown. However it was not clear who had broken in, as he said that the report only mentioned an intruder.

Everyone had their own methods of getting to the crime scene. Cyborg had his car, which he called the T-car; Robin had his motorized bike called the R-cycle; and the others could just fly there. I didn't have any way to get there other than walking. Fortunately though, Starfire had noticed this and offered to give me a lift to our destination.

Once we were all at the tech company, I immediately noticed a giant hole blasted into the side of the building. It kind of reminded me of what happened back in my hometown three years ago; when my mentor, Nobleman, and I were attacked by a mysterious masked man. But whoever did this couldn't be the same man…. could it?

The inside of the tech company was like a maze, consisting of many different halls that led to different rooms. Whoever we were after was somewhere in the building so Robin ordered each of us to split up and search the building. We each proceeded down one of the many halls; I took the one to the north. When I reached the end of the hall I came upon a large room full of strange machinery that I had never seen before. I paused for a moment to look around, but all of a sudden all of the doors in the room slammed shut. When I went to investigate I heard a voice behind me; a very familiar and very ominous voice.

"It certainly has been a while. Hasn't it, Link?" he asked.

I turned around, hoping that it wasn't who I thought it was. Unfortunately, it was; it was the same masked man in black armor that had attacked me and killed Nobleman three years ago. The mere sight of this man was making me tremble slightly. I'm not going to lie; I was scared. I wasn't going to let him know that though.

"You!" I exclaimed. "Wh-wh-what are you doing here?!"

"My base of operations happens to be in this city." He told me. "I take it your new friends have not told you yet?"

So my friends have encountered this man too?! I didn't have time to wonder about this, now was the time for action. I drew my sword and braced my shield, ready for battle.

"I'm not going to let this end like it did three years ago." I warned him.

"Hmm… yes, I heard that your skills have improved during your quest across the world. I'm interested to see whether or not this is true." The masked man responded.

Wait a minute. How did he know about my journey around the world? Now was not the time to wonder, for he had just pulled out a sword of his own; the exact same sword he had used to kill Nobleman, still stained red with what I assumed was the blood from its last kill.
I didn't waste any time. I charged at him with rage in my eyes, eager to make him pay for killing Nobleman. However my attack wasn't quick enough and the masked man dodged my first strike. I attempted several similar attacks, but he just kept evading them. I don't think I had any other choice; I had to use my Spirit Mode, a special power that was granted to me by the light spirits when I was an infant. I knew what would happen if I used it for too long, but I couldn't think of any other way to keep up with him.

My eyes lit up with a blue glow, as did my sword. This had not gone unnoticed by my opponent. In fact, it was the same tactic I used against him the last time. This time however, I had better control over it.

"I see that you've activated your unique power. I remember that from our previous encounter." The masked man said. "I believe you call it 'Spirit Mode', correct?"

I didn't have any idea how he knew about that, but I didn't waste time trying to find out. I came at him again, and this time my attacks were able to hit him. However, they did not hit him directly, for he kept blocking my hits with his sword. Fortunately it was the same when he was attacking me, for I was able to block his attacks too, using my shield. When I had the chance, I thrust my shield forward to counter his attack, which caused him to skid backwards several feet. I went out of spirit mode for now, to keep the side effect from happening. The masked man recovered from the blow and stood up.

"It seems you've learned to fight more conservatively. However, you'll find that the methods of battle have changed since we last met." He told me.

What did he mean by that? I quickly found out as I heard a beeping sound coming from my shield. I looked and saw a small mechanical device attached to my shield; obviously placed there by my opponent when I wasn't looking. The device happened to be a bomb, because a split second later it detonated and blasted me back into one of the machines in the room. I got back up, but before I could recover from the blow the masked man came at me and grabbed me by the neck. Then he slammed me against the wall, while still strangling me; just like what happened three years ago.

"Your spiritually enhanced fighting abilities are impressive, but do not guarantee you victory." He said. "And as I'm sure you're aware, it also has that unfavorable side effect."

While he was still strangling me, I tried as hard as I could to reach my communicator to signal for help, but I couldn't reach it. I had noticed however that while I wasn't able to escape his grip, it wasn't tight enough to break my neck. It's as if he was holding back.

"Your abilities certainly have improved from your journey across the word, but you still have much to learn. About fighting… and about yourself." He told me.

"How… do you know all of that?" I asked him weakly.

Before my question was answered though, I heard a loud crash come from one of the doors. Apparently my friends had come and busted the door open, just in time. The masked man had apparently heard this too, and released his grip on my neck. Before he left, he assured me that we would meet again, and then threw down a smokescreen and disappeared.

My neck was still aching from my opponent strangling me. Starfire noticed this when she saw me clutching my neck. While the others were investigating the previous smokescreen and all the damage caused by my battle, Starfire flew up to me and asked me if I was alright. I assured her that I was okay, and then told everybody what had happened here; about my fight with that masked man. They apparently knew exactly who I was talking about.

"So you encountered Slade?" Robin asked me.

"Slade? So you do know who he is?!" I desperately asked.

"He's one of our greatest foes." Robin told me. "Wait. You know him?!"

I nodded to answer his question. Robin wanted to know more about that, but the others suggested that we head back to the tower first so I could rest a little, as I was pretty banged up from the battle. As it would turn out, nothing had been stolen; Slade must have run off before he could take anything. I guess my battle against him did some form of good.

Back at the tower's op room, I told everyone about my encounter with Slade back in my hometown three years ago. I told them about how he killed my mentor, Roland Nobleman, right in front of me, and about how I may have been killed too if it hadn't been for Lanayru's intervention. They were all a bit shocked, especially since this all happened before I met them. Robin also informed me that Slade probably wasn't trying to kill me, but may have been testing me. He told me that Slade had been known to try and force or trick people into being his apprentice, and that he may be targeting me now.

Could that have been his intention from the start? Regardless, now I had to be even more careful around him. For now though, everyone suggested that I just relax. I needed to recover from the fight. After a moment, everyone left the room… well, everyone except Starfire.

"Link? I know you need to rest, but… is it alright if I stay here with you for now?" She asked me.

"Of course it's okay. I'd much rather be here with a friend than all by myself." I answered.

She smiled and then sat down beside me. When I saw her smile my face turned red (which I had learned was known as 'blushing') and I turned my head away slightly.

"You are not hurt too badly, are you?" she asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." I told her. "I'm a little more concerned about what might happen next time. That man, Slade, somehow knew about journey around the world."

"But how?" She asked.

"I don't know?" I answered. "But right now, I'm just happy that I'm still here."

"I too am glad that you are here. I… really did miss you while you were away… and for some time I had feared that… you would never come back…" She told me. "… I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I was the one who wasn't able to contact anyone. I'm just grateful that you still… like me. To be honest, I'm glad… that you came into my life." I said.

This time she blushed, but instead of turning her head away slightly like I had done, she kept looking into my eyes, and I kept looking into hers.

"I am also glad to have you as a friend." She said.

Now it seemed like she was slowly coming closer. Our eyes were only about five inches away from each other when all of a sudden she looked as if she had suddenly remembered something and quickly backed away.

"Uhh… sorry about that Link." She told me.

"What just happened?" I asked her.

"Oh, nothing… it's just… you really should get some rest now. I'll see you a little later." She told me before she left the room.

She was right. I needed to get my strength back for whenever our next mission was. But I couldn't help but wonder; when she was inching closer to me before, what was she trying to do? Also, why did I always feel weird when I look in her eyes? It was a good feeling though, like my entire body was enveloped in a warm veil, or something. I guess it wasn't anything bad though, and I would probably find out why eventually. So for now, I just lay down on the couch and relaxed, just being grateful that I was surrounded by good friends like her.