Ties That Bind
A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jacob McDonald
Opening Notes - I'm drowning it two Lit classes this semester. I got this out only because I'm sick today and can't do much else but write. Good for you, crappy for me. Feh. Enjoy!
Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Teen Titans.
Chapter Seven - From Bad To Worse
Tara laughed as Josh did another bad impression of David Letterman. She laughed long and hard and then leaned over and whispered in Jinx's ear, "Jenny, these guys are tool boxes. Let's ditch 'em."
"Amen to that." Jinx grinned at her then swatted Janice's hands away, "Jan! Damnit, I'm not gay!"
"But you said I could!" the southerner whined.
"Only until we found some boys!" Jinx motioned to Josh and Aaron, "Boys found!"
"Aw!"
"Wait… are you gay?" Aaron asked, looking mildly shocked, "But you're hot!"
"Oh, that's not a stereotype or anything." Jinx frowned, "Tosser. Beat feet before I decide I want to kick you really hard."
"Wha-" Josh started to look a little angry, but Janice cut him off.
"Those scars are bullet wounds, Sweetie. You'll want to run before she gets mad."
The two young men didn't need any more convincing than the pink energy that crackled around Jinx once. They ran for it.
Tara chuckled, "Man! I kind of wish I had Terra's powers! Glowing eyes would scare off a lot of dorks that wont stop hitting on me."
"It does have its uses." Jinx grinned back.
"Hey, what's going on in the refreshment stand?" Janice pointed and the three of them looked over. A crowd was forming as they stepped up to the door and peered inside.
Maggie was on the floor, laying in a pool of her own blood, and spluttering more out of her mouth in air bubbles. She was shaking and her eyes darted around wildly. "What the hell?" Jinx shoved aside a few people and shouted, "Has anyone called 9-1-1?" she looked around wildly, but no one responded. After a moment, Jinx burst out, "What the fuck is wrong with you people? Jan, I need you!"
Janice snapped out of the trance of horror she was in and the Valentines Day dance came rushing back to her. She gasped, and hurried forward, "Grab a towel, wrap the wound. She's going in to shock, so hold her down."
"On it." Jinx turned and grabbed the cell phone from the hand of a gawker as he was snapping pictures with it. She shoved him back before he could yell at her and dialed the three numbers she needed to. As she listened to the phone ring once, she yelled, "Tara! Go get Cassie!"
"What?" Tara blinked at her, still too shocked to do anything.
"Go get Raven! Now!"
Tara snapped out of it and nodded, "On my way!"
"Run, girl!" Jinx shouted, then turned her attention back to the phone even as she grabbed a towel to help Janice, who was leaning in to inspect the wound, "My name is Jinx. I'm a Teen Titan. No, this isn't a prank! I have a girl with a stab wound to the abdomen down at the refreshment stand on South Beach…"
Hanna blinked at Troia with her mouth hanging open, "You stopped a wave?"
"Just a ten footer. Nothing to be impressed with."
"Donna, waves of that size have enough potential energy to power Jump City for ten minutes. I studied it in my physics class two years ago."
"Well, apparently Donna has more energy than a wave." Ami grinned, "Cool."
"You're both crazy." Ginger waved a hand, "Now where is Maggie? We sent her to get ice cream fifteen minutes ago."
Raven and Starfire, laying on towels and recovering from their fall into the water both sighed. Raven sat up a little, "She's buying a lot of ice cream. It probably just takes a while for the order to be filled."
"Sub-par service is what it is." Ginger sniffed.
"This isn't a five star hotel, Ginger." Ami reminded her.
Becka squinted at a figure running towards them, "Hey… is that Tara?"
Raven looked over, then frowned, "Yes. And she's upset." Standing, she watched as Tara plowed into a young man who had inadvertently stepped in her way.
"Move!" she shouted as she shoved him aside. He went sprawling in the sand, and Tara waved a hand at the group of girls she was running to, "Raven! Raven, we need you!"
"What?" Raven lifted off the ground and flew to meet Tara as the blonde slowed and stopped, breathing hard, "Tara, what's wrong?"
"It's Maggie…" Tara looked up, tears in her eyes, "She's been stabbed."
Five minutes later, Raven ran into the refreshment stand, which Jinx had largely cleared out. She saw the pink and blonde haired Titan compressing Maggie's chest several times, then Janice leaning in and breathing into her mouth twice. "Damnit. Move." She ordered as she walked over.
Jinx, her hands slick with blood, nodded in a weary manner and slumped back. Janice looked worried, "Cassie… can you do anything?"
Raven reached out a hand and a white glow surrounded Maggie. After a moment, her eyes flew open and she started to clutch at the dagger still in her gut, "Oh… God! Agggaaa!" she screamed and arched her back. Raven pushed her down and held her face in her hands.
"Maggie! Look at me!"
"Cassie! It hurts! God… it hurts!"
"I know, Maggie, I know. Just focus on me for a moment, okay?" Maggie seemed to follow directions because she nodded, still sobbing and wincing. "Who did this? Who stabbed you?"
Maggie gasped for breath a few times, then swallowed hard, "Rose… it was Rose…"
Raven pulled away and passed a hand over Maggie's face. The brunet girl fell asleep instantly, and Raven looked up at Janice, "Stop the bleeding as best you can until EMT's get here. I'll see what I can do to repair what I can." She then looked over her shoulder, where Starfire and Troia were hovering, looking concerned and angry at the same time. Her voice was dark as she ordered, "Call Robin."
An hour later, Robin was shoving the young man who had been working the counter of the refreshment stand against a wall and screaming in her face, "A babe with white hair walks into your shop and you don't even notice her? Another good looking girl gets stabbed and collapses and you don't even realize it until five minutes later?" the young man he was screaming at winced and turned his face away.
"Robin," Troia put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back, forcing him to let go of the young man, "you're being unreasonable."
"This isn't right, Donna. This is… this is…"
"Sick." Raven said from where she was inspecting the corner of the shop Maggie and Ravager had been in. "Rose has gone off the deep end. Slade's made her into a monster."
"Agreed." Starfire hovered in the doorway, her bikini drawing appreciative stares from the cops that walked past outside.
"How can there be no witnesses? This shop is always busy this time of year…" Robin turned a glare on the poor shop clerk, who cowered away from him again.
Jinx poked her head around Starfire in the doorway, "Hey, she's awake, and they finally got the dagger out." She frowned, "She's asking for you, Robin."
Robin nodded, then turned to the three bikini clad women in the room, "Keep looking for clues. Raven, you're with me."
As he and Raven left with Jinx, Starfire and Troia continued to look about the shop for any physical evidence. The clerk cleared his throat and spoke up, "So… is this how you Titan girls are going to dress when you fight crime from now on? Please say yes."
Both young women turned glares on him that would make any man piss himself. The clerk wasted no time in fleeing the shop.
"It wasn't random in any way." Maggie muttered as Raven worked on healing the stab wound in her stomach. She was lying on a bed in the back of an ambulance, talking to Robin and Jinx while she was being looked after by EMTs and the dark Titan who was healing her. She was half awake from the pain killers and Raven's sleep spell, so she was speaking softly and slurred her words every now and then.
"Rose was looking for me specifically. She was hunting me."
"She was in the shop before you, wasn't she?" Robin asked.
"Yes." Maggie nodded slowly, "She was waiting for me, and she must have had that dagger ready… she was wearing a bikini, so there was no where to hide it."
"Makes sense. She wanted to hurt you… to hurt us." Jinx scowled, "I'm so kicking her ass when I find her."
"She told me to give the Titans a message… she wanted me to tell you that Slade says to keep out of the East End."
"Fuck that." Jinx palmed a fist, "I live in the East End."
"He wants us there." Robin shook his head, "Telling us to stay out… he knows we wont. No, it's an open invitation to come in and try to stop the gang violence. He's involved in all of this deeply… I just can't figure out why yet…"
"Who can really ponder what goes on in the head of a madman?" Raven muttered as she continued to concentrate on her healing.
"Slade isn't crazy." Robin replied firmly, "Evil, twisted and cruel, yes. But not crazy."
"Rose wanted me to tell you, Robin…" Maggie took a breath and shook her head to try and dispel the fuzziness, "She wanted me to tell you she's looking forward to a rematch…"
Robin nodded grimly, "So am I. And next time, I'm bringing her down."
"Fuck yeah!" Jinx pumped a fist in the air, "When do we start?"
"Right now. Let's go."
"Robin…" Raven looked up from her healing and caught his eye, "The research at the Tower…"
He paused and nodded, "Raven's right… I'm headed back to the Tower to go over those files with a fine tooth comb. Jinx, I want you and Speedy to search through the East End and see if you can't turn up some kind of lead. I'll have Starfire and Troia sweep the rest of the city to-"
Starfire landed next to him suddenly and took his arm, "Donna should go with Jennifer. Having eyes in the air and on the ground will better suit our needs." She looked at him pensively, "I will investigate with Speedy."
Robin arched an eyebrow, "Why so meek, Star?" he smiled, "Feel free to make suggestions whenever you feel you have a better idea… we've always worked that way."
"Yes… I simply do not wish to question your command…"
"Don't worry about it. It's good to see you developing more leadership skills. And you're right anyway. Speedy will go with you to try and find something in the rest of Jump while the rest of us hit those files as hard as we can." Turning to Jinx, he sighed, "Jenny… you'll have to tell the girls that their fun day is over. Have them stay together tonight, and make sure they can contact us if they need anything."
"Will do." Jinx nodded, "Tell Donna I'll be waiting for her at my place."
"Hey," Robin grabbed her arm before she could run off, "Register that T-Comp you stole as number TW009. I've set up your full function access on that registry."
Jinx blushed a little, "Um… okay… so you knew about that huh?"
"Jen, I know about everything you've taken from the Tower." He rolled his eyes under his mask, "You're good, but you're not that good."
"Heh… yeah." She waved as she trotted off. Starfire watched her go, then lifted off the ground.
"I will change back at the Tower and give Speedy your orders."
"Great. Raven and I will finish up here."
Raven sensed Starfire's fear and self loathing clearly as she flew off, but pushed it aside for now. Maggie still had a ways to go before she was out of the woods, and it was going to take all of her concentration to get her through it.
Jinx sighed once more as she stepped up to the huddled group of girls outside the refreshment stand. They all looked up at her with anxious expressions, and she almost laughed at how worried they seemed.
"Maggie's fine. Raven is healing her wound now, and the EMTs were able to remove the dagger without further damage to her body." The pink haired Titan paused for a moment, then continued with a frown, "Robin wants all of you to stick together for the rest of the day and tonight. Have a slumber party or something." She pointed as Ginger began to say something and frowned at the blonde heiress, "Especially you, Ginger. Ravager's attack on Maggie wasn't coincidence. She was looking for someone she knew Cassie and I were close to, but not one of the Second Floor Girls." Jinx swallowed hard and looked away, "I have a feeling she's saving you four for a special occasion."
Hanna looked a little sick as she clutched her swollen belly, and Becka grabbed her arm, her face betraying her fear. Ami and Janice stepped close to one another and held each other's hand. Jinx looked to Tara and saw her looking determined and grim.
"Scared, Tara?" she asked.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Tara replied and clenched a fist, "But if that bitch comes after me or my friends… I'll make sure she regrets it."
Jinx looked down and nodded, a frown etched on her face, "Alright. Everyone back to Becka's Jeep and Ginger's BMW. Stop by apartments or whatever but I want everyone in the same place and camped out in an hour. Tara, call Cassie with your T-Comp when you know where you'll be staying."
"Right." The blonde nodded.
"I'll see everyone tomorrow." Jinx smiled at them, "I promise."
The girls all nodded and said goodbye, then walked off to the parking lot where the cars were. Jinx watched them go with a frown, then looked back down, where Tara had been standing a moment before.
She walked forward and inspected the cracks in the ground, broken in the specific shape of Tara's feet, then stood up and mumbled, "Interesting."
Speedy scratched at his head as he flipped another file shut, "Man! Donna sure brought back a lot of info on this guy! She must have slept with someone…"
Beast Boy chuckled and Cyborg rolled his one human eye, "Right, because that's the only way anyone can get what they want. You're a damn horndog, Roy."
"I'm a one woman horndog, thanks. Speaking of women though… what's up with you and Jenny lately?"
Cy sighed and leaned away from the file he was reading, "I don't know. She's hot then cold, then she'll tell me how much I mean to her and not talk to me for weeks. I think she's confused and really doesn't know what to make of all this new good guy stuff."
"Well, hopefully she'll come around now that she's a Titan." Beast Boy put in, then flipped his file shut, "How is reading about thirty year old military acquisitions getting us closer to Slade again?"
"Donna's contact said all this had something to do with how he got to be the way he is. Some military experiments or something." Speedy grabbed another file, "We wont be able to piece it all together until we compare notes and-"
The doors to the upper levels swooshed open, cutting him off. They all looked over and saw Starfire stepping out, adjusting the band on her upper right arm and frowning. She looked up when she saw them and hesitated for only a moment.
"Robin has issued new orders for us, following the reappearance of Rose Wilson. Jinx and Troia will be sweeping the East End, and Speedy and I are to investigate in the rest of the city. Cyborg, Beast Boy, the two of you will be joined shortly by Robin and Raven and you shall piece together Slade's past as quickly as possible."
Speedy stood up and stretched, glaring at Star the whole time, "Looks like I'm back on the streets, guys. Catch you later." And he walked to the elevator Star had just come out of. He brushed past her, but didn't say a word. Star winced all the same.
As soon as he was gone, Cyborg gave her a worried look, "Are the two of you fighting about something?"
"Yes. It is a private matter." Starfire lowered her eyes, "Just know that I am dreadfully sorry, and that I will do my best to convince friend Roy to forgive me in his own time." She shook her head as tears started to well up again, and quickly flew to the windows, where she opened one and hovered outside, "I will see you upon my return." And she was gone.
"Dude…" Beast Boy looked over at Cy, "Just what the hell is going on around here these days? Roy is pissed at Kori, Raven and Dick are trying to kill each other every few seconds, Jenny is acting like she doesn't know what to do with herself… are the only normal ones you, me and Donna?"
Cy laughed a little, "Yeah. You know things are going down hill when you and I are the only normal ones…"
Toria knocked on Jinx's door and waited for several moments before the pink and blonde haired girl opened it up. The Amazonian woman was wearing her usual star patterned body suit, along with her silver gauntlets and lasso. She stepped into Jinx's apartment and inspected the young woman before her.
Jinx wore black leather pants with her usual black ass kicking combat boots. Her top left her stomach exposed and was held up by spaghetti straps, dropping to reveal a little cleavage. She'd dyed her hair pure pink once again, and had it up in its devil horn style. Strapped to the back of her waist were two fighting sticks, much like the ones Robin used, and at her side in a pouch was her com unit.
Troia nodded, "Ready to kick ass?"
"Born ready." Jinx's eyes flared pink.
Donna laughed, "Oh good. All that sneaking around with Roy the other night really got me in the mood to just bust some heads and get info the old fashioned way."
"Good, 'cause I'm not in the mood to hold back tonight." Jinx palmed a fist.
"Then let's go." Troia flew out the door and Jinx followed, "I'll be in the air to support you, but this is your part of the city, Jen. You'll know where to look for what rocks we need to kick over."
"Right." Jinx nodded, "Off to Sycamore Street then." And she quickly climbed a nearby fire escape so she could get to the roof tops.
Tara shut the back of Becka's Jeep firmly and turned towards the large estate style home that the Senator's daughter lived in, twenty minutes drive past the city limits. She had a sleeping bag under one arm and her backpack slung over her other shoulder. A few feet away, Janice was pulling the last of her overnight things out of the passenger side door. Shutting it after herself, the southerner turned to the blonde, "Ya act like ya'll aint never seen a big house before, Tee."
"I've never been in one this big." Tara replied, then sighed, "Odd one out again."
"Oh hush." Janice swatted her arm, "You fit right in with these girls. You're one of a kind, Tara."
"Thanks." Tara smiled at her, "Let's get inside so I can call Raven."
"Why da'you get one of those cool T-Communicator thingies?"
"Because it's mine… from before."
"I thought'cha couldn't remember any of that."
Tara shrugged, "I can't. It doesn't change the fact that it all happened though, or that this com technically still belongs to me."
"Hmm." Janice shrugged as well, "Whatever. You're still just a normal girl to all of us."
"Glad to hear it." Tara looked around as they entered the foyer, "Holy Hell." She blinked at the crystal chandelier, the sweeping grand staircase, and the double doors that led into a central hall in the middle of the first floor.
"It is rather impressive." Jan said with a smile, suddenly slipping into a more west coast accent, and leaving her heavy Southern drawl behind, "Much larger than my house. I actually grew up in an old plantation mansion in Georgia."
"Wow. You just switch accents on the fly don't you?"
"Sorry." Janice blushed a little, "I have to remember to talk normally and not with the Southern accent sometimes. It's only when I'm really stressed and can't focus on something else that I revert back to it."
"Isn't it more natural for you to speak with your home lingo though?" Tara cocked her head to the side.
"Some times. Other times, I prefer to talk like this. Even I admit it's easier to understand." Janice waved a hand, "What kind of house did you grow up in?"
"I grew up in a two bedroom apartment in uptown Jump City."
"Heh." Janice motioned up the stairs and they started to climb, "You should see Ami's house. It's huge." She shook her head, "And her dad's summer house on the lake in Virginia still has five bed rooms and three baths."
"Christ." Tara shook her head, "What am I walking in to?"
"And all of that is nothing compared to what Ginger grew up with, let alone what she personally owns now. I guess Hanna would be the least rich of the girls we went to school with. Especially now. She's all on her own now that her parents have disowned her."
"That's pretty shitty. I really like Hanna… maybe I can help her out."
"How's that?"
"Well, I work over at the Westbrook Mall, at the information desk. Boring as sin, but it pays the bills that the student loans don't cover."
"I don't know if Hanna would like working at the information desk at the mall… all those clothes around and she can't shop for them?" Janice shook her head as they stopped in front of a bedroom door that had a lot of noise coming from the other side of it.
"I know. And I have the perfect solution for that too… some of the upscale stores are looking for personal shoppers right now."
"Wait… who?" Jan looked confused.
"Personal shoppers. People who help you pick out stuff that looks good."
"That's an actual job?"
"Yep."
"God… Hanna was born for that."
"I know. Isn't it great?"
"We'll have to tell her as soon as possible." Janice agreed and opened the door to Becka's room. They were instantly assaulted by the noise inside.
Ami was chasing Becka around, trying to get a candy bar the brunet had obviously stolen from her back, while Hanna sat on the bed and laughed her head off. Ginger was standing off to the side, wearing only her underwear and pulling silk pajamas out of a bag she'd brought. Someone's cell phone was ringing, and mid volume indie rock pumped out of the speaker system attached to Becka's computer at the desk in the corner.
Janice sighed and stepped into the madness with practiced ease, "Becka! Give Ami back her chocolate! You know how she needs it to keep sane! Hanna, stop instigating and help me control Becka. Ginger, put some damn clothes on! And someone answer that phone!"
Tara dropped her backpack and sleeping bag, and pulled out her T-Comp with wide eyes. Flipping it open, she hit a few buttons and lifted it to her face, "Tara to Raven. Please come in."
The face that appeared on the screen was one she'd been hoping to avoid having to see for some time. Robin looked at her seriously, "Report."
"Uh… where's Raven?" Tara asked.
Robin actually blushed a little and smiled lightly, "Currently resting in her bed."
Robin scratched at his head with a lopsided grin, "She was so exhausted from healing Maggie that she fell asleep on the back of my bike on the way back to the Tower. I carried her up to her room, and you called just as I got her tucked in."
Tara smiled up at him, "Aw. That's sweet. Do you do that for all the Titan girls? Can I get tucked in tomorrow night?"
"You're not really a Titan, Tara." Robin's smiled faded, "I'm sorry I snapped at you with an order. Are all the girls together?"
"Yep." Tara looked away from the screen as there was a crash in the background, "And I can't say that I think it's a good idea. I don't expect to live out the night without severe injury, mental scaring, and perhaps the witnessing of lesbian sex."
Robin chuckled, "Just make sure they all stay there. And thank you for staying with them."
"Robin?" Tara looked meek as the sound from beyond her com faded. She had obviously moved away from the other girls, "Um… are you mad that Raven contacted me?"
"I'd be lying if I said I no." he frowned, "When she and I discovered the truth, we agreed it would be best if you didn't find out. We wanted you to live a normal live with no complications or ties to your troubled past. We had your best interest in mind."
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to integrate myself so much into her life… it just kind of happened that way."
"It's not your fault… and you have to know that all of us… myself included, don't blame you for what Terra did. And even if we did, we've all moved past it and forgiven her as well."
Tara looked down and tears glistened in her eyes, "You're a good guy, Robin. Thanks."
"Any time. You're doing a great service to the Titans, Tara. If you ever need help for anything, call us."
"Thank you." She said again, then wiped her eyes and straightened up, "Alright. Time to dive into the insanity. Bet you don't send Cybrog and Starfire into death traps like this."
"I reserve these kinds of missions for the bravest of the team." Robin smiled at her, "Call if you need anything."
"Right." The blonde nodded, "Tara out."
Robin shut his com and sighed. Looking down at Raven, he saw her staring up at him with a soft smile. He arched a corner of his mask and she just smiled wider.
Scowling, Robin stomped off, "Shut up, Raven."
"Didn't say a thing."
"Yeah, whatever. You don't have to. Get some rest."
"I will. Thank you for bringing me up… you great big softie you."
"I said shut up."
"If you really want me to Robbie-the-Teddy."
"You really want to get assigned sewer patrol, don't you?"
Raven shut up.
Speedy stared out across the city as the sun was starting to set, trying to pick the next most likely spot to dig up any info on Slade and Ravager from his vantage on top of a twenty story building down town. He was leaning on his bow, but lifted it with a sigh and slung it across his back as he turned around, speaking to the roof top in general.
"Come out, Starfire. I know you're there."
Star peeked around the AC unit she was hiding behind, and blinked at him in a worried fashion. She slowly floated over and landed a few feet away from him, her hands folded in front of her in a demur manner. She looked up at him, saw the angry expression on his face, and quickly looked away.
He rolled his eyes, "You know I'm angry with you, and yet you've been following me around all day, not getting a lick of work done. Whatever it is you want to say to me, spit it out and be done with it."
Star looked up at him again, tears pooling in her eyes, "I am… sorry Roy. I did not mean to anger you so by following you."
"Star, I'm hardly angry with you for following me. You know why I'm mad."
"I…" she looked away again, "It was the first time. The only time." Placing one hand on her ornamental arm guard, she sighed and let her tears fall, "I do not know what possessed me to do the cheating, but I feel most ashamed. I will never do so again."
"That's great. But, you know, doing it once is usually enough to end a relationship." Speedy grit his teeth, "What I want to know, Starfire, is why you did it in the first place."
She looked back up at him, "The man I was with… you know him?"
"His name is Gregory Holt. Independently wealthy, twenty-two years old. Lives alone, no living relatives, no arrest record." Speedy shrugged, "He's a regular guy who inherited a load of money when someone died."
"He is a thief. A master thief." Starfire's right hand curled into a fist and she felt her muscles tighten, "He is Red-X, and he is a liar. He said many things to me… things I now see were to lower my defenses and make me more susceptible to his suggestion that we… share ourselves."
"So you were seduced by the enemy." Speedy shook his head with a sigh, "Okay. Fine. You were fooled into it. That's okay, but you still willingly cheated on your boyfriend… who happens to be the best friend I have in the world."
"I did. And I am very sorry for it."
"I'm not the one you should be saying that to."
"Robin must not find out." Starfire looked up at him with a dead look in her eyes, "It would destroy him."
"Star… Kori, if you don't tell him, I will." Speedy sighed and looked away, "Sure he'll be pissed, and sure he'll probably break up with you and maybe even kick you off the team… but you can't keep a secret like this. It'll just weigh on you and…" he looked at her and stopped talking. She was floating off the ground, he eyes burning with green light, and red and orange energy rippling along her limbs. She was shaking lightly as she growled down at him.
"Robin must not find out."
Speedy gulped, but drove forward, "Kori, look at yourself! You're fucking other guys, hiding from your team, and by the looks of it," he paused and motioned to her, "you're ready to kill me for threatening to tell Dick something he has every right to know."
Starfire suddenly stopped glowing and landed hard on the roof. She looked down at her hands and shook her head, "X'hal… I am… losing control."
"Kori… it's okay. You're upset, and you don't want Dick to find out… I get that. I've cheated on girls in the past, I know the feeling. But you have to fess up."
"I cannot… he will hate me-"
"Kori." Speedy cut her off, looking very serious, "Dick will be mad, and he'll yell and stomp around and say horrible things… but he'll never hate you. I don't think he could live with himself if he did."
She looked up at him with teary eyes, "Do you really think so?"
Speedy nodded, "I mean… come on, Kori. You're the one, you know? He'll love you until the day he dies."
She nodded slowly, then straightened up and wiped away her tears. "I will tell him. But first, you and I have to undertake a mission."
"Yeah. I was thinking we could run down to the old steel works and see if Slade has set up shop there again, or-"
"You misunderstand." Star shook her head, "We will not be looking for Slade or Ravager this night."
"Um… we're not?"
"No…" Star looked up at him and her eyes flashed green, "You must help me on a more personal mission." She lifted off the ground and clenched a fist in front of her, "We are going to capture and arrest Red-X."
Four men stood around a body shop at the end of an ally off Sycamore Street in the East End of Jump City. There were currently two cars in the shop, both having been torn apart and the parts scattered. There were piles of expensive looking rims in one corner, and several boxes over flowing with stereos and speakers. Off to one side was a work bench with containers full of computer chips and wire harnesses.
The four men were currently taking a break from stripping every last valuable component out of the cars they were working on, sitting in a semi circle and drinking beer from bottles still in the paper bags they were purchased in. All of them winced as the sound of mettle crunching resonated throughout the shop.
"What the hell was that?" one of them stood up and looked around.
Suddenly, a steel door next to the closed garage door buckled in and was torn from its hinges. A tall woman in a black body suit covered in stars walked in and tossed it aside like it was made of paper.
All four men were now on their feet and they were grabbing pipes and crowbars as the woman walked into the room with a shorter pink haired companion in tow. They stopped in the half circle of men and the taller one spoke, "All right, boys. I want you guys to take a break from stripping cars and modding hoopties and answer a few questions."
"What the fuck you want, bitch?"
The tall woman frowned, "I want to know what you know about Slade and the Ravager. We have a tip that they're providing protection to this outfit in exchange for you guys only stealing the rides they specify."
"Get fucked, lady." Another of the men flipped the two girls off.
Troia frowned, "I want you to tell what you know."
"And what does she want?" the first man pointed at Jinx with his pipe.
"She wants for you not to tell me so she can beat it out of you."
"Well," one of the men took a step forward, "I hate to disappoint a lay-" he never got the rest out, because Jinx and already darted at him and slammed him in the throat with an elbow. He went down hard, gagging and trying to breath.
Troia sighed, "Get what you can, Jinx."
"Will do." The pink haired witch grinned and ducked a crowbar, coming back in with a punch that the Amazonian warrior could hear splintering ribs.
She quickly flew to the back of the shop and through the door marked 'office.' Once there, she rifled through the papers on the desk and started ripping open drawers. After what seemed like several minutes, she found a list of cars under some of the papers that was all checked off except for the two at the bottom.
As she read through it, she called over her shoulder, "How's it going, Jinx?"
"They won't say anything!" Jinx yelled back, "They're just like, Oh! My arm! and Ah! My mouth!"
"Well, keep trying." Tucking the list away in a pouch, she searched for anything else of use. Coming up empty handed, she walked back to the garage area.
Her eyes widened when she saw two men lying on the floor, bleeding from head wounds and curled around broken ribs, and a third pulling him self out of a stack of boxes. Jinx had the fourth man on his knees and, as Troia watched in horror, she twisted his arm around and slammed an open palm into his elbow, snapping it like tinder. There was a feral, excited look on the pink haired girls face, and she was grinning like mad.
"Jinx!" Troia flew across the room and pushed the witch away from the man as he fell to the ground, screaming, "What in the name of Hades are you doing?"
Jinx looked confused for a moment, then shook herself out of her funk, "Uh… sorry, got carried away."
"Carried away?" Troia pointed, "Don't break bones unless you have to! He's going into shock now!"
"Oh… uh, sorry?" Jinx rubbed the back of her head, "Not used to holding back."
"Whatever." Troia watched as the fourth man made a mad dash for the exit and fled into the night. She turned back to the broken man and dragged him over to his buddies. Turning back to Jinx she shook her head, "Call EMTs for these guys."
"Aren't you going to go after that last one?" Jinx asked as she pulled out her com.
Troia grinned a little and shook her head, "Time for Crime Busting 101, Jinx; If you want to catch a hawk, let a pidgin think it's given you the slip."
"Duuuude…." Beast Boy whined, "This is soooo boring!"
Robin didn't even look up from the file he was reading, "Stop complaining and get to work."
"I've only started complaining!"
"Then take a break. Get me a cup of coffee while you're up." Robin flipped a page.
"I'll take a Mountain Dew, Green Genes." Cyborg put in as he sat down the file he was reading and picked up another for cross reference.
Beast Boy looked between them for a moment, then sighed and stood up, "Fine."
"Don't forget the sugar and creamer," Robin muttered, "I like-"
"I've lived with you for six years, Dick. I know how you take your coffee." Beast Boy sounded mutinous.
Robin looked up, startled, "You do?"
"Yeah. Two packs of Equal and two teaspoons of the Coffee Mate stuff you get. The Carmel is your favorite, but French Vanilla will do in a pinch."
"Whoa." Robin put down the file, "How in the hell…"
"Seriously, Dick. How do I take my coffee?"
"You don't drink coffee."
"Right. How do I take my tea?"
Robin blinked, "Seven sugar cubes, and only to annoy Raven."
"Right again. See? We know each other better than you think."
"We do, don't we…" Robin frowned down at the file, "Huh."
"What's up?" Cyborg looked over at him and Beast Boy paused and arched an eyebrow.
"It's just… I never realized how much we've integrated ourselves into each other's lives… and I'm kinda surprised at how it doesn't bother me at all."
"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked.
"I dunno… I guess… Batman drilled self sufficiency into me from an early age, and I always prided myself on my detachment from emotions and…" he trailed off.
Cyborg spoke up quietly, "Is that why you've been having so many problems with Kori lately?"
"Part of it." Robin muttered, "I guess I never realized how much every one of you guys means to me."
"Yeah, well…" Beast Boy turned back to the kitchen, "We're your family now, Dick. You're stuck with us."
Robin watched him go for a moment, then picked his file back up and grinned down at the picture of a man with white hair and an eye patch staring back at him with a scowl on his bearded face, "Huh. Take that, Slade, you twisted bastard."
"Becka!" Tara shouted over the music, laughing and giggling, "Help!"
Becka glanced up from where she was typing an English 110 paper at her computer and saw Janice and Ami tickling the poor blonde girl and laughing. She sighed, "Jan! Ami! She's not a lesbian!"
"She slept with Hanna though!" Ami protested.
"I'm not a lesbian either." Hanna pointed out, "It was only because there was just the one bed."
"She's still cute when she giggles." Janice poked Tara one last time, then let her up, "You're fun, Tara."
"Glad you think so…" Tara was a little breathless, "Ginger… you're normal aren't you? Everyone else here is weird."
"Compared to these girls?" Ginger snorted and flipped a page in the month old fashion magazine she was perusing, "I'm as normal as they come." She arched an eyebrow at a picture, "Oh look… it's me. That dress made my boobs look droopy."
"Right." Becka rolled her eyes and turned back to her paper, "Because millionaire model/actresses are totally normal."
"I think you might be the most normal one here, honestly." Hanna spoke up, arching an eyebrow at Becka.
"Me?" she turned back around and scoffed, "I'm the daughter of a US Senator. How is that normal?"
"No, I see her point…" Ginger started pointing around the room, "Amelia is a goofy girly-butch half-lesbian, Janice is gay but acts straight in every aspect except her sex life, Hanna's a knocked up teenager with a shape-shifting boyfriend, Tara's a memory wiped hippy grunge chick, and I'm a fashion model. Compared to us, you're downright boring."
Becka blinked, "Um… I'm not sure if that was an insult or a compliment."
"Yeah, you seem good at that, Ginger." Tara winked.
"Oh, she's the queen on insults." Hanna laughed a little, "If you want to learn to rip someone down, you go to Ginger for lessons."
"I don't… I mean…" Ginger grew quiet and looked down at the ground, "If I had known what you were going though then, Hanna… I never would have-"
"Water under the bridge." Hanna cut her off, "Though the 'ragged fuck toy' comment almost made me loose it big time."
"Oh, God…" Ginger buried her face in her hands, "I have no idea how you've been able to forgive me for that… I was such a bitch."
"Eh." Hanna shrugged, "That thing where you got shot to save me from getting my head blown off kind of evened things up."
"Yeah. Then Rose saved both of us." Ginger trailed off and everyone was silent for a few moments.
Ami spoke first, "How could she do that to Maggie? Rose was so nice in school… she just…"
"Robin says she's working for Slade now." Tara put in, "He's her father, after all. It… can't have had too good an impact on her mind."
Janice shook her head, "Still… she went from sensible quiet girl to mass murderer in four months… what the Hell could Slade have done to her?"
"Probably the same thing he did to me." Tara spoke quietly.
Everyone was silent again for a few minutes, then Becka spoke up, "Does anyone know a different word for fleeting? I've used it like, seven times already."
"Transient." Ami muttered, "Sounds more professional too."
"Thanks." And the brunet girl turned back to her paper. The rest of the girls all resumed chatting quietly, reading, or whatever else they chose to do for the night.
Only Tara stared off at the wall, her mind still turning in circles and running a mile a minute.
"Starfire!" Speedy shouted as he jumped from one building ledge and swung down to another rooftop somewhere uptown, "Slow down!"
Starfire looked back at him over her shoulder from a hundred yards ahead of him, and floated to a stop. She quickly flew back to him, "What is it, Speedy?"
"I… I'm not…" he gasped for breath, and leaned his hands on his knees for a moment, breathing hard. After a moment, he looked up, "I'm not Robin. I can't keep up with you like this."
Star blushed a little, "I am sorry… but Greg's apartment is just a few buildings away now."
"Star… I know, okay? I saw you there, remember? I did a full background check on the guy." He swallowed hard, and finally seemed to get his breath back, "Let's just be cool about this. You want to take him down. I get that. You want to make sure he doesn't blab to Robin about his relationship with you. I get that too. But that doesn't change the fact that if we go busting in there guns blazing, he could turn violent and potentially very dangerous. He's proven before what kind of skill he has with that suit."
"He will most likely not be wearing it." Star pointed out.
"Recon is still in order. And if we can take him down without any kind of fight at all, that'd be preferable."
"What is your plan?" she cocked her head to the side, folded her hands behind her back and looked at him quizzically from where she floated in front of him. He grinned at how cute she looked.
"Well, he thinks you're all in to sleeping with him… you'll be the bait and the hook. Just go in, hug him, then clock him a good one and put him out. By the time he wakes up, he'll be in a cell."
"I do not know if I approve of such underhanded methods. Tamaranians prefer to confront our enemies in a forward manner."
"Kori, our concern should be keeping civilian casualties and collateral damage to a minimum. If there's even a chance he's wearing that suit, or could gain access to it, we should move in with caution and take him down quick and neat. No need to put anyone or anything in danger just because you prefer to get into a fist fight."
"I see." She bowed her head, "Richard too believes in such tactics."
"For the same reasons I do, I'm sure. It's about saving lives and making the world a better place, Star. Not about vendetta and rage."
"For me, this is about vendetta."
"They you'll have to be more professional than that." Speedy was firm, "Come on, Kori. You've been doing this for how long? You know how the Titans operate."
She nodded, "Very well. We shall do it your way. You will be there to back me up?"
"I'll be right behind you." Speedy stepped forward and gave her a light shove, moving her through the air in the direction of Red-X's penthouse, "Now go knock 'em out, Tiger."
Starfire giggled and flew off in a silent and stealthy manner. Speedy lost his grin and drew an arrow with a rope attached. Firing it after her, he tested the line, then swung across.
The man who had fled the garage Troia and Jinx and cleared out burst through a door in the back of the club C.T. Roller and his gang hung out in. Ten members of the East End Rollers were lounging about with several girls and C.T. himself as the chop shop worker stumbled in shouting, "Five-Oh! Five-Oh bitches!"
"Henry, you better calm the fuck down and tell me what you're talkin' about." C.T. said, walking over to him, "What the fuck is up?"
"The shop just got knocked over! They fucked everyone but me up! I barely got away!"
"Who? Bay Street? Cops?"
"Naw man!" Henry's eyes were wide and he looked frightened, "Capes!"
"Titans?" C.T. was suddenly all business.
"One of 'em was that new sparkly chick with the black hair, but the other one… I don't know who the fuck she was! She was breakin' bones and beating us like it was no bodies business!"
"Alright." C.T. stood up straight and shouted, "Hey ya'll! Get'cha straps out and-"
He never got to finish though, because at that exact moment, the wall exploded in with a burst of pink energy. The dark form of Troia flew in through the rubble and yanked C.T up off his feet, shaking him once, "We thought you were in bed with Slade, C.T. We just didn't know how to prove it."
"You!" he shouted, "That Harper bitch!"
"Like I would use my real name…" Troia rolled her eyes, "Call me Troia. Now explain yourself, or I let Jinx down there beat up every last man you have in here." C.T. looked down and saw Jinx with two men already on the ground, her foot planted on one of their backs.
Looking back up at Troia, he stuttered out, "I don't know nothin' about Slade! I've been keeping in touch with some guy called himself Mister Wilson, but other than him, I-"
"That is Slade you moron." Donna shook him again, "And he's playing you. He's the one who set you up and killed the Bay Street Bangers guy."
"No way! Mr. Wilson's been keeping the Banger's off of us! He's been feeding 'em misinformation and keeping our assets secure!"
"And what do you do for him?"
"We boost the cars he wants us to boost, and we sometimes pull a hit for him! Never any Bangers though!"
"Right. He's manipulating you. Stop talking to him."
"Whatever! Just get out of here! We aint done nothin' you can take us in for!"
"That's true." Donna dropped him the seven feet to the ground and he stumbled as he hit. She floated down to him, "Keep your nose clean. Come on, Jinx." And she walked away. Jinx glared around the room at everyone with glowing pink eyes, then turned and followed.
Across the street, on a rooftop, the Ravager spoke into a com device, "Just like you thought they would, Daddy. We can move on to the next phase."
The reply was silky smooth, "Good. Stay out of sight a little while longer, Rose. We don't need the Titans to realize what's going on until it's too late."
Starfire walked into the penthouse living room of Gregory Holt and looked around. The lights were on, but he seemed to be nowhere, "Greg?" she called out.
"Kori?" he replied, walking in from a hallway off to the side, "Hey! What are you doing here?"
"I came by to see you." She blushed lightly, "I was growing despondent with my patrol and I have… missed you."
"Oh." He grinned a wicked grin, "You… missed me, huh?"
She rolled her eyes, "I missed having sex with you, is that what you want me to say?"
"Yeah, that's about it." He grinned wider and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her neck and she wrapped hers about his waist. He spoke into her hair, "You want to head back to the bedroom so we can talk about how despondent you were?"
"Of course. Let us just… is there something the matter?"
Greg had gone stiff in her arms and pulled back a little ways. He stared down at her arm with squinted eyes and she let her gaze follow his. There, she saw her ornamental arm guard…
And in it, the reflection of Speedy, crouched on the balcony.
"You set me up!" Greg shouted, shoving her away from himself.
"No!" Star flew back as three arrows shattered though the French doors and flew into the room at Greg. The master thief dodged two of them and swatted the third out of the air. Speedy cursed as he jumped into the room, aiming another arrow as he did. Greg ducked that one as well when Speedy let fly, and shouted in alarm as the explosion it caused burst above his head.
Greg dove through a doorway and hit a button on the inside, causing a heavy steel door to slam shut behind him. Speedy fired and arrow at it, but did no damage, "Star!" he shouted, "Rip that thing open!"
Starfire looked conflicted for a moment, then hurled a starbolt at the door. When no damage was evident, she flew over and slammed her fists into the walls on either side of the doorway. Gripping the sides of the doorframe, she literally ripped it out of the wall with a scream of rage. Tossing it aside, she stepped into the dark room and glared about with glowing eyes, "Greg?"
"Call me Red-X, babe." He replied as he came sailing out of the darkness, suit in place. His foot slammed into her face and she topped backwards. As he charged out into the living room, Speedy let loose, firing twelve arrows in shuch rapid shots that Red-X had to duck and dodge like a mad man to not be hit. The living room of his home now in shambles, Red-X ran out to the balcony and jumped off, waving as he teleported away.
"Damnit!" Speedy shouted, and ran over to Starfire. She was picking herself up, shaking her head, "Are you okay, Kori?"
"I am fine. Come, we must give chase!"
"Can you carry me?"
"Of course. He will stick to rooftops."
"Good. Let's go." Starfire lifted Speedy up and flew off with him to try and locate Red-X.
It was almost midnight when Jinx and Troia walked into the pool hall the Amazon had started in with Roy when they were on their undercover assignment. What they saw made them pause.
"Um…" Troia looked around the hall, "You boys remember me?"
The men inside all looked up from where they were arming themselves with guns and knives and saw her. The one she had played pool with spoke up, "Yeah! You were here with that Roy kid! Best rack I've ever seen!"
Jinx looked at her, "He said that to you, and you didn't kill him?"
"I was undercover." Troia replied, "Where the hell are you guys going all geared up like that?"
"We just got word that the Bay Street Bangers are moving in tonight. They and the East End Rollers are gonna settle things once and for all."
"And this concerns you… how exactly?"
"We're with the Rollers." One of the men replied.
"Wait…" Jinx held up her hands, "Are you telling me that every gang in the East End is taking sides?"
"Pretty much." The man replied.
"Shit." Troia pulled out her T-Comp, "Troia to Cyborg."
"I'm here, Donna. Go ahead." Cy spoke into his arm as Beast Boy and Robin looked up to see what was going on.
"We've got a situation down here in the East End. Gangs are choosing sides and the Rollers and Bangers are about to go head to head to find out who the proverbial king of the hill is."
Cyborg looked over to Robin with a questioning glace even as the Boy Wonder flipped open his com and joined the call. Beast Boy did the same a half second later. Robin spoke, "If things are going to hell that quickly, then we need more presence in the East End as soon as possible. I'd bet my last dollar that Slade has a hand in this."
"Like you're ever going to have a last dollar…" Troia rolled her eyes over the video connection.
"Can the jokes, Donna." Robin hit a few buttons and called up another connection, "Speedy? Were are you and Starfire?"
"On a collision course with Jinx and Donna." Speedy replied a moment later, "We're perusing Red-X across the rooftops, and he's headed straight for the East End."
"Aren't you supposed to be looking for Slade?"
"We got side tracked."
Robin sighed, "Whatever. Red-X adds another dimension to this that we don't need right now. Follow him as well as you can, but when you get to the East End, we'll need you for more important things."
"Got it. Speedy and Starfire out."
Robin frowned and thought for a moment, then spoke, "Alright, here's the run down. I'm staying at the Tower to finish what research I can. Cyborg, call the cops in… this is going to be too big for just the Titans to handle. After that, get down there and rendezvous with Jinx. The two of you will try to get the Bay Street Bangers to back down, while Beast Boy and Troia try to keep the East End Rollers from making any preemptive strikes."
"Hurry." Came Jinx's voice over the network wide call, "We can see more and more gangs gathering here… there has to be at least fifty people just on this street."
"Jesus…" Robin breathed, "It's going to be a riot. Let's move team." And he flipped his com shut even as Cyborg and Beast Boy were headed for the garage.
"Dare." Tara said, staring down Janice with steel in her cold blue eyes.
Janice grinned in a wicked way, "Kiss me."
"Hey!" Ami shouted and lunged across the circle of girls on as they sat on the floor of Becka's room. She talked her girlfriend and started to tickled her viciously, "What have I told you about hitting on other girls when I'm right here!"
"Fine!" Janice laughed, then shoved Ami off of her, "Get off, ya scally wag! Mah land, girl! Ya'll'd think Ah was askin' her ta go down on me or somethin'!"
"Tara still needs her dare, Love." Ginger pointed out.
"Fine." Janice reigned in her accent and sat back up as Ami resumed her seat between Becka and Hanna, "Kiss Becka then. She's the least lesbian of all of us, so that should be fun."
Becka rolled her eyes, "I swear, all your dares are about making other girls make out with each other. Come up with something more creative next time Ja- mmph!" Becka's eyes went wide and she almost fell over as Tara kissed her firmly on the lips. After a moment, she pulled back and grinned.
"Ha. My turn."
"Whoa." Becka shook her head, "She's a good kisser…"
The group of girls laughed for a few minutes, then settled down again as Tara pointed at Ginger, "Alright Miss Hammilton, truth or dare?"
Ginger arched an eyebrow, "Truth."
"Exactly how many men have you slept with?"
"Are we counting the guys from back in High School who were certainly not men?"
"Yep."
"Twelve."
Everyone gaped at her for a second, then Hanna spoke up, "Holy shit, Ginger. You're only eighteen!"
"And? I happen to like sex. It's a great stress reliever."
"Whatever." Ami waved a hand, "It's your turn."
"I think I'm going to call it." Ginger grinned, "We've already seen Tara kiss Becka, Hanna sing the Ode To Joy, Janice stand on her head for five minutes, and we heard Becka's litany of embarrassing nudity moments. What else is there?"
"Ice cream?" Hanna looked hopeful.
"Down in the kitchen." Becka stood up, "Come one everyone. If we don't get some mint-chocolate-chip in this girl, she's liable to go hormone witch on us."
"Sweet." As all the girls stood up, Tara heard a familiar bleeping. She walked to her bag of stuff and pulled out her T-Comp. Flipping it open, she was surprised to see Beast Boy staring back at her, "Hey, B. What's up?"
"Is Hanna right there? She's not answering her cell."
Hanna stepped over and looked down at Beast Boy from next to Tara, "I forgot it at my apartment. What's up? You look worried."
"I'm a little nervous. There's some majorly bad stuff going down in the East End tonight… I just wanted to call and say I love you."
Hanna clutched Tara's arm so hard the other girl hissed in pain, "Oh God… you're going to be jumping in front of bullets again, aren't you? Gar… Jesus don't go, I-"
"Hanna, I'll be fine… just… you know… in case." He looked away.
"Gar…" Tara smiled down at him over the vid link, "Be really careful, okay? Leave all the really dangerous stuff to the other Titans… just for tonight?"
"I'll do my best." Beast Boy looked serious, "But I'm still going to do my job. Tell everyone I said hi, and for the love of God, stay out there at Becka's house until we call and say it's okay to come back to the city."
"We will." Hanna let a tear drip down her cheek, "You come back alive, okay?"
"I promise." He nodded, "I have to go."
"Alright. Tara out." And the blonde flipped her com shut. "What a moron. Calling to say he loves you 'just in case' then telling us not to worry."
Hanna sniffed once, then nodded, "Now I really need that ice cream."
"Then come on." Tara guided her to the door that the other four girls had already left through, "Let's feed that kid something tasty!"
Hanna giggled.
Jinx jumped to the street from the single story building she'd been on top of and ran down to the corner. As soon as she stopped, the T-Car cam skidding to a stop right in front of her. She barely paused before jerking open the passenger side door and jumping in.
As she buckled up, Cyborg looked over at her, "You doin' okay?"
"I'm fine." She smiled at him, "All in a nights work, right?"
"Yeah, sure." Looking back to the road, Cy cleared his throat, "Hey, um… what're you doing tomorrow night?"
"Most likely beating up gang bangers if this doesn't clear up tonight."
"Right." He frowned, "So then… next night we have free… you wanna… you know… do something?"
"Victor Stone, you walking soda machine! Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Uh… yeah." He blushed lightly.
Jinx giggled, "Well, how can I pass up such a smooth approach? What did you have in mind?"
"Dinner somewhere? Maybe take a drive through the hills…"
"You just want to get me all alone so you can do depraved things to me, don't you?"
"Wha-" he did a doubled take.
Jinx blinked at him innocently, "What? I didn't say I would mind…"
Cy almost swerved off the road.
Beast Boy shook his head while Troia stood next to him and scowled, "You're not listening, dude!" he spoke to C.T. Roller while waving his hands emphatically. "The Bangers are only coming down here because Slade tricked them into it!"
"How do I know you're tellin' the truth, little man?"
"Why would we lie to you? The Titans keep people alive, C.T., we don't get them killed! And if you ever call me little man again, I'm going to break your jaw."
"Nice, Gar." Troia rolled her eyes, "Look, we just want your guys to hold position is all. No sense sending them into the grinder just because you heard some rumors. The Bangers wont attack if we can help it, and if you'll hold off on trying to attack first, then we can avoid blood shed altogether." She spread her hands out in a pleading gesture, "Give peace a chance."
C.T. eyed them for a moment, and finally nodded, he opened his mouth to say something, but at that exact moment, there was a shout from outside the garage they were standing in attached to the night club he and his gang hung out at. They all turned to see a Roller member stagger in, weighed down by one of his fellow gang bangers. He quickly carried the young man in and set him down on the ground, "I need help!" he shouted.
Both Titans rushed over, C.T. close on their heals. As they made it up to the body, C.T. swore loudly, "Damn! That's Island Jimmy! What the… who cut him up like that?"
"It was Bangers!" the young man who'd brought him in replied, "They knocked me down and when I came to, he was like this!"
Beast Boy turned to Troia and shook his head, "Precision cuts from an extremely sharp blade."
"Ravager." She nodded, "Slade is setting this up."
"Slade nothin'!" C.T. stood up, "Get everyone together! I mean everyone! We're takin' those sick fucks out tonight!" and he yanked a gun out of his waist band, "Let's roll!"
As he stalked away, the young gang member who'd carried Island Jimmy in looked up at the Titans desperately, "Please! You have to help Jimmy!"
Troia looked down at him with sympathy, "Hon… we can't…"
"Why not?"
Beast Boy crouched down and shook his shoulder, making him look up, "Because he's already dead, man." He watched as the gang members face fell, then he began to cry. Shaking his head, Beast Boy stood up, "Go home. Stay inside, and protect your family. It's going to be an ugly night in the East End."
Two Bay Street Bangers were creeping along in the shadows, sneaking through the East End with guns drawn and killer intent written on their faces. As they snuck past a shadow in an ally, it spoke to them.
"Hey there." They both jumped and pointed their guns, but their eyes grew wide as a black clad figure with a white skull mask stepped out of the shadows. Red-X inspected their gang colors and cocked his head to the side, "Kind of a bad time for Bay Street boys to be showing colors on Roller turf, isn't it?"
"Who the fuck are-"
"Name's Red-X. I was actually looking for C.T. Roller. He owes me a favor and I was going to collect tonight… you weren't planning on killing him were you?"
"Fuck yes!" one of the men shouted, "Rollers fuckin' killed another one of our boys! Cut him up again!"
Red-X sighed, and shook his head, "Are you guys crazy or stupid? Look, this whole thing is being manipulated by some outside player. Nobody ever sees these mysterious deaths happen, do they? They just find the bodies. Are you really going to go down to that club and get your asses killed just because you think you might know who killed your friend?"
"Uh…" the two men looked at each other.
Red-X motioned with one hand, "Alright, take me to Bret Colmmer. He's still in charge of the Bangers, right?"
"Uh… yeah… what you want with Bret?"
"To talk some sense into him. I may be a thief, but I'm no fan of this kind of crime. Any way I can keep you guys from killing each other would be great."
"Alright…" one of the men nodded, "I got a new baby to think about, you know, and-"
He was cut off as a knife flew out of the darkness and slammed into his shoulder. He cried out and fell over, his friend ducking with him. From the shadows behind Red-X, Ravager charged out and swung one of her swords down at the two men.
Teleporting in front of her suddenly, Red-X held up two X-shaped arm blades and blocked her killing strike. She backed up a few paces and drew her other sword. "Ah… the feared Red-X wants to fight, does he?"
"I don't know who the hell you are, toots, but you'd better-"
"Ravager…" a silky smooth voice echoed out of the shadows of the ally, "Leave him to me." And Slade stepped out of the ally from behind his daughter.
"Of course, Daddy." And Ravager stepped aside. As soon as she was out of the way, Red-X sprang forward, making a preemptive strike against Slade. The master assassin simply side stepped him and kicked him into a the wall of the building they were next to. The two Bay Street boys stood up and started to run.
"Make sure they don't escape, Rose." Slade said as Red-X picked himself up.
"Yes, Daddy." Ravager grinned and dashed after the men.
"Now, let's see if you deserve to wear a suit one of my apprentices created…" Slade held out a hand, "Come."
"What ever you say, buddy." And Red-X held out a hand, shooting an adhesive X at his opponent. Slade ducked to the side and drew out his staff, which extended with a click. Before he could charge the young man in the powered suit however, a particle detonation exploded in front of him. Both combatants sprang apart as Speedy landed between them.
Backing up quickly, the archer stood next to Red-X and aimed an arrow at Slade, "So, Greg… you want a little help?"
"I thought you were going to arrest me."
"Later. Right now, we need to keep Slade from tricking half the East End into killing each other."
Red-X looked at Speedy for a second, then back at Slade, "Fine."
Speedy grinned, "Alright then!" and he fired his arrow. Slade swatted it aside with his staff, and barely got it back around in time to block Red-X's flying kick.
Ravager laughed as she raised a sword above her head. The two men were slowing down, the one because he was bleeding heavily, and the other because he was helping his friend. She's already caught them once and taken their guns away, and this was going to be the killing blow…
The wind was knocked out of her as a strong armed alien princess suddenly swooped down from the sky. Starfire lifted Ravager off the ground, spun around and hurled her with a warriors shout at the nearest building.
Ravager flipped around in mid-air, and landed on her feet against the building side, grunting as the impact buckled the brick under her feet, "Heh." She grinned and launched herself off of it, right back at Star. She screamed out a battle cry of her own as she came down at the Tamaranian with both swords.
Starfire grit her teeth and darted in, catching both of Ravager's wrists and stopping her swords from slicing into anything. The white haired young woman simply grinned, "Knew you'd do that." She said as she swung her feet down and slammed them into Starfire's gut. The alien girl doubled over in pain as Ravager yanked one of her hands out of the grip they were in, and slammed the hilt of her sword into Star's head, dazing the red head and knocking them both from the sky.
The gang members were long gone by the time the two girls hit the ground. Ravager quickly rolled away and came up with both swords brandished. Star drew herself to her feet and charged starbolts on both hand.
"I believe you have yet to answer for damaging my boyfriend, and then stabbing one of my girlfriends." Starfire growled, red and orange energy licking at her sides and flowing down her fiery hair.
Ravager grinned, "And you need to die based solely on how damn annoying you are. Ha!" and she charged.
Starfire grit her teeth and let loose an energy blast right into the street in front of her.
Cyborg had parked the T-Car across the middle of the street and he and Jinx were standing in front of it, and a mob of at least fifty Bay Street Bangers. The pink haired girl was waving her arms, "Can't you see you're making a mistake?" she shouted.
"Screw you, bitch!" one of the gang members shouted back.
Cy bellowed out at them, "Come on, ya'll! You're being manipulated!"
"Screw you too, bitch!"
Behind the two heroes, an explosion blossomed up into the night sky. It was green, tinged with red and orange. Jinx blinked over at Cy, "Um… was that…?"
"Starfire. If she's using that kind of fire power…"
"We have to go." Jinx looked back to the gang members, who were all shifting uneasily now, "Go home. This is going to be a metehuman conflict, and you don't want to be in the middle of it." With that, she and Cyborg jumped back into the T-Car and peeled out down the street.
One of the men near the front of the mob looked to another man, and asked, "What'd ya think, Bret?"
Bret Colmmer shook his head, "We don't want to be in the middle of that. Come on… we'll go around it down Cherry Street, then up to Sycamore Street. From there it's a straight shot right into the Roller's turf."
Robin sat a file aside and rubbed his eyes. As he reached for another his com started bleeping. Pulling it out, he flipped it open and spoke, "Robin here."
"Hey." It was Beast Boy, "We just saw a pretty big bang tearing up the streets over on Vine. We think it might be Starfire."
"She used a lot of power last time she fought Red-X. She could be doing it again."
"She's not answering her com, and neither is Speedy. Donna and I are going to investigate… we're not getting anywhere with the Rollers."
"Police are on their way to try and stop any gang violence, so be prepared to break off and assist if you're needed." Robin tossed aside another file, "I'm going to head out there in a few minutes myself."
"Done with the research?"
"I think I've got all the info I need." Robin stood up, "I'll see you in a few-" he was cut off as another call came in. Arching an eyebrow he answered it and opened the communication to Beast Boy as well, "Go ahead, Speedy."
"Robi-zzzkkkkzz-amn thing… T-Comp got hit by a stray shot. We're getting killed out here, man, where are you?"
"Roy? Who? What's going on?"
"Red-kzzztt… are fight-kzzt… -ade! Repeat, we're zzzk-ighting Slade!"
Robin almost dropped his com, "Damnit! Gar, get down there ASAP!" he flipped his T-Comp shut and shouted, "Raven!" turning around, he stalked to the middle of the main room, "RAVEN!"
A swirl of black energy appeared next to him and the hooded young woman materialized, "You couldn't have used your com?"
"Damnit, not now! Slade's made his appearance and he's going to kill Roy unless you get me down there, now!"
Raven's eyes flared white and a note of panic entered her voice, "Hold on. This is going to be cold." And she swept her cloak up and around both of them.
Ravager hurled herself through the smoke and dust covered street and slashed down with a sword, grinning as she felt it make contact with flesh.
"Ah!" Starfire stumbled away from her and lashed out with another blast, blowing all the glass out of a nearby car, but missing her target as Ravager danced away once again.
"Can't hit me!" the psychotic young woman sang, and dashed in again.
Starfire reached to her side and grabbed a mail box. Yanking it up off the ground, breaking the bolts that were holding it down, she swung it around and swatted Ravager to the side. Rolling out of the fall, Rose was back up in a heart beat. "Ouch." She grinned.
Starfire screamed and flew at her with a burst of energy. Ravager jumped straight up and planted a hand on Star's shoulder as the alien flew under her, "Shouldn't loose your temper in a fight like this, Kori." She said with a manic smile, and stabbed one of her swords straight down into Starfire's back.
Star screamed in pain and lost control, falling to the ground and plowing across the pavement until the nearest building stopped her momentum. She moaned and reached up to her right shoulder, feeling the point of the sword protruding there.
Ravager hefted he other sword and prepared to charge, but stopped and looked up at the last second. Frowning, she dashed into the nearest ally and vanished into the darkness.
A moment later, a green bird swooped down and became Beast Boy. He ran over to Starfire, shouting, "Kori! Hey, are you okay?"
Troia descended a moment later and looked around, "Did you see where Ravager went? I spotted her running off when I was coming in, but I didn't see where she escaped to!"
"Forget her for now! You need to get Star back to the Tower… it's the only place in the city with the tech to treat her race. I'll head down the street and see if I can't find Roy."
"Alright."Troia reached down and scooped up Star, who moaned softly. "I know it hurts, Kori, but hold on for a little while…" and she was in the air and gone a moment later.
Beast Boy swallowed hard, then became a cheetah and dashed off down the street.
Speedy slammed into a wall and coughed up blood as he slumped to the ground. "Ow… oh… ow. That was a good kick…"
"Thank you, Speedy." Slade swung his staff down at Red-X, who blocked it with both of his arm blades, then started stabbing at the villain repeatedly. Slade blocked and dodged all of his strikes.
"Come on, Speedy! I need fire support!" the thief shouted.
Speedy weakly lifted his bow and pulled out a regular arrow. Aiming the sharp arrowhead at Slade's face, he let it fly.
The aim was good, but Slade was better. He spun about with his staff, knocking Red-X back and catching the arrow with his free hand all in the same fluid motion. As Red-X came back in at him, Slade twirled the arrow around and stabbed it behind himself, right into the thief's chest.
Speedy's eyes went wide, "You… bastard!" he climbed to his feet, "I'll-"
Slade yanked the arrow out of Red-X and spun around again, throwing it like a dart at Speedy. It hit him in the left bicep, the arm he lifted his bow with. Wincing, Speedy dropped his weapon.
As Slade reached up and grasped the hilt of the sword he had strapped across his back, Raven and Robin materialized next to Speedy. Robin's eyes darted around the battlefield and he felt them go wide behind his mask.
Being trained in combat for as long as he had been, and knowing his opponent as well as he did, Robin saw what Slade was going to do before he even started to move. With a lurch, the Boy Wonder started to dash towards his enemy with a shout, "No!"
Slade smiled under his mask as he drew his sword and spun around one last time, swinging it in a high arch. Robin drew a bird-a-rang and threw it, but it was too late.
Red-X's body slumped to the ground as Slade swatted Robin's weapon aside with his sword. The mast thief's head landed next to his body a moment later.
Robin screamed out something unintelligible as he flew at Slade with a kick. The assassin blocked it and knocked him away, then jogged back a few feet and tossed something at Robin, "We'll see each other soon, Robin."
"Don't you dare run, Deathstroke!" Robin caught the grenade Slade had tossed at him, pulled out a grappler and stuck it on the end. Pointing it straight up, he fired it off and the five second fuse of the explosive detonated it some seventy feet above the ground.
By the time Robin was able to let go of the grappler, Slade was already gone.
As Robin stood there, fury making his limbs tremble, staring at the corpse of an adversary turned ally, the T-Car tore around the corner up the street and sped up to him. As it screeched to a halt and Cyborg and Jinx jumped out, Beast Boy came running in and became himself as he made it up next to Robin.
"Holy shit dude… is that…?"
"Red-X." Robin replied, and looked up at the night sky, "Slade just killed him."
"No way…" Cyborg shook his head, "This can't be happening…"
Raven and Speedy walked up to join the gathering a moment later, the dark girl already healing her boyfriend's wounds. Robin looked up at Beast Boy, "Where are Donna and Kori?"
"Ravager stabbed Star. Donna took her back to the Tower."
If it was possible, Robin grew even more angry, "We have to stop this… Slade had to be brought down once and for all. He-" his bleeping T-Comp cut him off. Yanking it out and flipping it open he snapped, "What, Donna?"
"What's got you so pissy?"
"Slade just murdered Red-X. What do you want?"
Troia frowned over the connection at him, "The City Status report just brought up about fifty 9-1-1 calls. The Bay Street Bangers just launched a massive coordinated attack on the East End Rollers."
Robin closed his eyes and seemed to drift a little as she continued, "This is getting ugly, Dick. I'm finishing up with Star here at the Tower, then I'm coming back out. Where do you want me to meet you?"
Robin didn't say anything. He just lifted his face up to the sky, and winced when a drop of rain hit his nose. Everything was falling apart… Slade was back and killing people, the city was about to tear its self apart, and he was keeping huge secrets from his team. Nothing was going right. It was all just crashing down on him.
"Robin?" a voice seemed to be coming to him from far away. "Robin, listen… focus…" Was that Raven? Was she still mad at him?
"Richard." His eyes snapped open and he saw the violet orbs of Raven staring at him gently, "Focus. I know how you feel… but you can't fall apart right now. The Titans need you."
He nodded slowly, "I'm sorry I kissed you."
She nodded as well, "It's okay. It didn't mean anything."
Speedy gaped at them, "He kissed you?"
"Later, Roy." Raven shook her head.
"She's right." Robin swallowed hard, "This night is going to hell in a hand basket, team. Nothing's going right. Everything is falling apart. And just like always, we're the only one's standing in the way a lot of very bad things." He lowered his eyes to the ground and spoke softly, "There's been a lot of secrets between us for a while now… after tonight is over with, we'll get them all out in the open, I promise."
Looking up once again, he flipped through a few screens on his T-Comp, suddenly all business, "Cyborg and Raven, you two are with me. We're going to head north and see if we can't stop some of the fighting there. Jinx, Beast Boy and Speedy, you head up Sycamore Street from the west and see if you can't flank the Bay Street Bangers and stop them from behind. Troia will meet up with you when she can. Beast Boy," Robin turned to him with a small smile, "You're in charge."
"Hey, Dick…" Robin looked up and saw Speedy right in front of him. He sighed and braced himself as the arched slugged him in the gut.
"Ow…"
"That was for kissing my girlfriend." Speedy straightened the Boy Wonder up, "Now let's get this show on the road." He said with a grin.
"Right." Robin rasped out as he put a hand on Cyborg's shoulder to support himself. He frowned down at the body lying in the street and shook his head, "I'm sorry we can't stay with you, X. Titans," Robin shouted, straightening up, "Go!"
Closing Notes - Next Chapter out within a month or two. Review!
