The R-Cycle zoomed out of the access tunnel, like a red torpedo, and after merging into traffic on the bayside boulevard it began to weave between the traffic, expertly piloted at speeds well in excess of 100 mph. Motorists did double takes, not because they had never seen Robin on his signature custom motorcycle. Seeing the Boy Wonder zoom across the city had become a common sight over the years, just as seeing Cyborg driving the T-Car or watching the female Titans or Beast Boy fly overhead. What was unusual about the sight was that there were TWO Robins riding on the speedy two wheeler.
YJ-Robin wasn't too happy at that moment, and it wasn't just because he wasn't driving the awesome machine. The truth of the matter was … it was the helmet he was wearing.
TT-Robin always wore his signature helmet with the ubiquitous "R" logo on it when he piloted his crotch rocket. The problem was that at the time Robin had only one helmet, which meant that YJ-Robin had to wear … Starfire's helmet, which was a pink affair with 'Hello Kitty' stickers on it.
This was beyond humiliating for the younger Boy Wonder, who resigned himself to wearing the emasculating piece of headgear to comply with both the law and Titan rules. He sighed, and wishing to take his mind off of his predicament he tapped on the intercom button, summoning his doppelganger.
"What?" TT-Robin tersely answered the summoning.
"So what's with you and Starfire? Is she really your girlfriend? You seem to ignore her a lot."
"Of course she is. What kind of question is that?"
"Relax, I'm just curious."
"And so is the local press, they're always asking if Star and I are a couple."
"And you tell them to buzz off, right?"
"You don't expect us to give interviews?"
The R-Cycle banked sharply as it turned onto Murakami Avenue.
"You mean you don't even brag? I would."
"And that's why you don't have a girlfriend!" TT-Robin retorted.
The younger Robin chortled.
"What's so funny?"
"You're just like Bruce. So proper and stuck up."
"I'm nothing like him!" TT-Robin snarled.
"Yeah right … say, was Bruce on the money about you and Starfire 'knocking knees'?"
Robin slammed on the brakes, bringing the R-Cycle to a screeching halt. He turned and glared at his younger self.
"What did you say?"
The younger and far more irreverent Boy Wonder grinned.
"You heard me. So are you banging her or not?"
"What do you think?" He snarled in reply.
Younger Robin was now laughing.
"Nope, you're way too uptight."
TT-Robin frowned before putting his bike back into gear and taking off. After a long, silent minute they reached the hospital. It was the city's oldest and biggest healthcare facility, an old fashioned brick structure that had grown in an apparently haphazard and random fashion over the decades. Screams could be heard coming from inside the building.
TT-Robin drove the R-Cycle through the building's main entrance; its sliding doors were already a mangled heap. The hospital lobby was crawling with Slade-bots, who focused their attention on the two boys and began to fire at them.
The boys leapt out of the way of the shots while extending their collapsible bo staffs. In a performance with the grace, elegance and precision of ballet troop they counter attacked the robots, who in spite of their now improved electronic brains were no match for the two Boy Wonders whose staffs, kicks and even punches found their targets and one by one the Slade-bots were felled, like trees falling helplessly to a lumberjack's chain saw.
Soon the lobby was silent and was littered with the remains of about 50 to 60 Slade-bots. The two young men savored their interim victory.
"We work well together, don't we?" YJ-Robin commented.
"We should, Starfire's computer simulation said we would."
The younger boy grinned.
"So on top of being a hottie; she's also smart. Who would have thought?"
"Don't let her outward personality fool you. She's also brave and fierce."
"So are you gonna let her get away, the way Bruce lost Selina."
"Why do you keep comparing me to him?"
"Why did you become so serious? And what happened between the two of you?"
"Why aren't you more serious?" TT-Robin snarled back at him. "As for what happened between us, if anyone should know or understand, it would be you."
Before YJ-Robin could answer more laser shots echoed down the hallway followed by terrified screams.
"We'll talk about this later." The older Boy Wonder commanded as they both took off running down the hall, bird-a-rangs in hand.
It was going to be a long afternoon at the hospital.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The T-Car was also tearing down the bayside avenue, travelling in the opposite direction from the two Robins. It wasn't rush hour so like Robin with his crotch rocket; Cyborg was able to weave the ubiquitous blue and white sedan through the light traffic, exceeding the posted speed limit by over 50 miles per hour. The police scanner the tin man had installed in the car was turned on and the initial reports were not encouraging. The local Scout-o-rama was being held at the city's central park, with thousands of people in attendance. People were trying to flee in their cars and a massive traffic jam had formed as everyone tried to escape at once, making vehicular access to the park all but impossible as all lanes were packed with cars as terrified drivers were resorting to driving in the opposite direction in the lanes that led into the park.
The T-Car exited the bayside boulevard via an off ramp that fed into the older two lane road that led into the heart of the park. As reported on the scanner, all lanes were being used to flee the park. Seeing the tidal wave of cars leaving the park he quickly pulled over.
"Can you carry me the rest of the way M'Gann?"
The green girl nodded in the affirmative and taking Cyborg's mechanical hands she lifted him into the air and they resumed their approach to the park.
The scene that greeted them there was similar to the others that were happening around the city. Approximately 500 Slade-bots were terrorizing everyone who was present and the park was littered with the supine forms of the robots' first victims.
"There are so many of them." Megan moaned as they approached the horrific scene.
In addition to the injured civilians the fairgrounds had been decimated. Tents were roaring in flames, the midway rides were wrecked and the robots continued to spread their mayhem in an almost random fashion, shooting and flipping vehicles over.
"Just remember, they're robots. Try to be unpredictable, you know, random, and that should throw them off. Then hit them as hard as you can, they look stronger than Slade's older stuff. And whatever you do, don't get shot! I'll take this end and you go to the other, we'll sandwich them that way."
Megan deposited Cyborg on a field at the south end of the park and resuming flight she sped off to the north side of the complex. As she became airborne she saw that the tin man had converted both of his hands into sonic cannons and was firing away. The Slade-bots were sturdier than the last time the Titans fought Slade's mechanical legions and while his cannons were taking them down it was plain to see that it wasn't easy.
As the Martian made her way towards the other end of the park she was targeted by other robots, barely able to dodge their deadly lasers. She needed a weapon with which to counterattack the seemingly endless hoard and quickly found it.
A school bus was overturned and a quick mental scan determined that it was empty. Using her telekinesis powers she threw the bus into the throng of robots, rolling it like a log over dozens of the attackers. Much to her chagrin less than half of the robots were destroyed and they rose from the ground, unfazed and resumed firing at her.
Megan then tried a new tactic. Focusing her mental energy on a single robot, she scanned it for its Xenothium fuel cell, and found it in the android's torso. Using her telekinesis she increased the reaction mixture, which caused the cell to overload and explode. The detonation not only blew the robot to smithereens, it also took down several nearby robots as well.
The remaining robots then concentrated their fire on the airborne Martian, who shrouded herself using her invisibility powers and resumed her tactic of overloading fuel cells. She could hear Cyborg's sonic cannons still firing and an occasional 'booyah' would echo through the park.
As Megan destroyed more and more robots their density on the ground decreased which lowered her kill rate per fuel cell detonation. She continued with her tactic even as fatigue set in. The remaining robots, which now numbered around 100 at her end of the park, kept taking random shots in the air, hoping to find their target via serendipity. At first Megan was able to dodge the shots with ease, but as she tired she son oon found it increasingly difficult to stay clear of the lasers.
It wasn't long until one of them found its mark. She was hit in the left shoulder and felt as if her arm was encased in ice as she lost all feeling. She quickly sought shelter behind a brick wall as she tried to nurse her paralyzed arm.
The screams in the park had almost died out as their two pronged attack had bought the Scout-o-rama attendees enough time to escape. An occasional sonic cannon blast would occasionally resonate across the city's commons.
Megan quickly came to the conclusion that her arm wasn't going to become functional anytime soon and decided to rejoin the battle in her handicapped state. Resuming her state of invisibility she once again took to the air and was surprised by what she saw.
The park was littered with the wreckage of hundreds of destroyed Slade-bots and she watched in amazement as the remaining droids self destructed. She landed on the field and dropped her shroud of invisibility. Still confused she searched for Cyborg and saw him approach her. One of his bionic forearms was completely destroyed.
"Cyborg, are you OK?" She asked as she clutched her still limp arm.
"It's not as bad as it looks. Don't worry; I've got spare parts back at the Tower. What I was worried was running out of juice. I came pretty close."
"Why did they self destruct?"
"You mean you didn't do that?" He asked.
She shook her head.
"They did that by themselves Cyborg."
Cyborg let out a deep sigh.
"He's done that before, but I've never seen so many self destruct. I don't get it."
As the two heroes caught their collective breaths, the sound of sirens approaching the park could be heard.
"We're done here Megan and you're hurt. Let's get you back to the infirmary."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Raven had never felt so helpless before. She was dangling upside down like a rag doll, paralyzed and her powers wouldn't respond. The razor sharp dagger gleamed in the sunlight. She knew that the end for her was near. As a Titan she had mentally prepared herself for death, she knew that super heroes were neither infallible nor immortal, and that sometimes the unlucky ones would roll snake eyes. Nonetheless her mind began to race. She began to lament all the life events she would never experience: marriage, having children and perhaps someday retiring to a normal civilian life, if that was even possible for a gray skinned, violet haired demoness. She wondered what life might have been like with him, assuming that their relationship would have progressed that far, which of course now it was self evident that she would never get that chance.
She kept looking for a solution, a way to escape, but found none. All she could hope for now was a quick and painless death, but the Slade-bot was aiming the dagger at her navel. It was going to eviscerate her, so she knew that quick and painless were out.
She stared at the dagger, waiting for it to claim her life when she heard a loud crash. Everything became a blur as the robot released her and she fell head first to the ground. The pain of the blow to her head as she hit the ground was excruciating, but she did not black out. As she fell she saw that the Slade-bot had been impaled by what appeared to be a stone spear, and the droid twisted on the ground, quivering as relays and servos malfunctioned inside its body, until finally it stopped moving.
Suddenly a figure loomed over Raven. Pushing her long blond hair out of her face, she smirked at the sorceress. Raven blinked at her in reply.
"Lucky for you I was here to save your sorry gray butt, Raven."
Terra then disappeared from Raven's line of vision and she heard the battle resume, the sounds of Slade-bots being destroyed systematically echoed throughout the downtown area, until the sound of a myriad of simultaneous deafening explosions was heard. Within a minute Terra was back and she began to rifle though Raven's jeweled utility belt.
The sorceress couldn't even frown at the geomancer for invading her privacy, as she kept some personal items in her belt, including a small picture that Starfire had taken of her and Beast Boy at the Mayor's Civic Ball that had been held just a month before. Terra found the picture and smirked.
"You don't look half bad when you wear a real dress, Raven." The blond taunted her before putting the photo back.
Terra then extracted Raven's communicator. She flipped it open and keyed up Beast Boy's channel. As soon as his face appeared on the screen he could not mask his surprise.
"Where's Raven! You're using her communicator Terra."
"Calm down lover."
"I'm not your lover! What have you done with Raven? Where is she? I saw her get shot on the city cameras, but I lost the signal after that."
"What did I do to her? I saved her sorry butt! But she's hurt, so get the infirmary ready, I'm bringing her in."
"Bring her through the rooftop door, I'll buzz you in." He replied.
Terra flipped the communicator shut, and picked Raven up bridal style. She then summoned her granite surfboard and after hopping on she commanded it to take them to the Tower.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
It was three hours later and the teams were literally licking their wounds as they sat in the common room. With the exception of Kid Flash and Artemis all of the teams had a similar experience. Once the heroes achieved dominance on the battlefield the Slade-bots self destructed.
Robin paced in front of the giant TV screen, which was showing the local evening news. It was muted, but audio was not necessary as all they were showing was footage from all the different confrontations around the city. The damage caused by the Slade-bots was staggering while the local hospitals were packed to the gills with the injured. The Central Hospital was so damaged that it had to be evacuated, adding to the other hospitals' burdens.
The Boy Wonder surveyed the assembled groups of heroes before him. With the exception of Starfire and Superboy everyone else was injured. Wally had an arm in a sling; both Robins had bandages covering their lacerations. Artemis sprained her ankle when she was knocked over by the jumbo jet explosion and had a few burns on her arms. Miss Martian also had her arm in a sling. The two Atlanteans looked bruised and bloodied. Cyborg had replaced his damaged forearm, but also looked beat up. Raven was confined to her own wheelchair. She was now able to move her arms but her legs still felt as if they were made of Jell-O, and her powers were still AWOL.
And then there was Terra, who had managed to stay with the Titans since bringing Raven to the Tower. Cyborg was able to locate some footage of what had happened to Raven at City Hall, and the assembled heroes saw how close Raven came to buying the farm.
Taking inventory of his injured team Robin felt his heart sink. Batman would be showing up tomorrow morning and he would see a Tower full of disabled superheroes.
This was the Boy Wonder's worst nightmare coming true. Batman was going to hold this over him as proof that he wasn't ready to lead a team of superheroes, to remind him that they were still sidekicks. And there was nothing he could say to refute him. Had the Justice League been there, none of this would have happened.
He locked eyes with Raven, who knew what he was thinking. She subtly shook her head, letting him know that she knew what he was thinking and that she disagreed with him.
After taking a deep breath, Robin finally spoke up.
"You should all be proud of yourselves. Defeating that many Slade-bots is unheard of. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that Slade accomplished his goal. Raven has joined Beast Boy on our disabled list and the rest of the combined team also got pretty beat up."
Robin then gazed in Terra's direction.
"Terra, I want to thank you for saving Raven's life. I know we still have our doubts about you, but we are all grateful for what you did."
Terra beamed triumphantly as she glanced over at Raven, who remained stoic and said nothing. It wasn't clear if Terra was expecting any recognition beyond Robin's words, but none was offered. Neither applause nor a single 'atta-girl' was heard.
At that moment the sliding doors opened and Batgirl entered the common room, carrying 15 pizza boxes which towered over her. As she glided down the stairs it was evident that she was uninjured, which only served to rub salt into Robin's open wound of pride and self esteem.
"I thought you guys might be hungry, so I brought some pizza." She announced cheerfully, with a hint of insecurity in her voice.
Robin smiled. Babs hadn't changed one bit. While she could stare down villains like the Joker or Poison Ivy she was still insecure when she was with her peers. She was also still wearing what Robin thought was an unstylish costume. He had told her on more than once occasion to ditch the purple costume that looked like a dress and trade up to something … more flattering.
"Thanks Batgirl, I think you were reading our minds. Where's Batman?" Robin replied.
"He's off doing some justice league business, and he gave me the night off. So here I am."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
After dinner was consumed Robin and Batgirl left the common room together which did not go unnoticed by Starfire. She watched them, out of the corner of her eye, as they entered the elevator. She frowned as she caught Batgirl hooking her arm into Robin's as the door slid shut.
"Looks like your Babs is pretty friendly with your Robin." The younger Boy Wonder remarked to the princess.
"Who is this 'Babs' you speak of?"
The lad chuckled.
"It's just a nickname we have for Batgirl. Say Starfire, would you like to go outside, you know, for a walk? The moon is out tonight." He asked hopefully.
"Do not be the stupid." Was her only reply as she flew out of the room.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Oh well, it was worth a try." He consoled himself.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Robin and Batgirl were standing together on the Tower's rooftop, taking in the nighttime view of the city's skyline, which twinkled like a giant Christmas tree. There was almost no traffic on the bayside avenue as most residents were still barricaded in their homes, afraid to venture out of their cocoons out of fear that more Slade-bots would appear to terrorize the city again.
Robin sighed before speaking.
"Go ahead Babs, lay it on me. What did Batman say about how we performed today?"
The Gotham redhead shrugged her shoulders.
"You know him, he doesn't say much."
"Why do you think I left?"
"I know, you told me back then."
"So what do you think Babs? About today, about the Titans."
It was her turn to sigh.
"I'm gonna be honest. You guys did OK, but you could have done better. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you need luck on your side, but you know Bruce, he doesn't believe in luck. But I think we were lucky. Bruce was visiting a college professor, so we were already at the University campus when the Slade-Bots attacked; it made a big difference as they weren't expecting us to be there, especially not two members of the Batclan."
Robin frowned. If there was one thing he agreed with Bruce on it was that good luck was made and not found.
"I should resign and let Cyborg take over." He moaned.
"Don't be silly Dick. You've done a great job with the Titans, or would you rather still be a sidekick like me?"
"Really? Thanks Babs, you have no idea of how much that means to me."
Barbara leaned over and after hugging him she gave Robin a chaste peck on the lips, which left him wide eyed.
"For old time's sake." She giggled.
Suddenly a loud crash was heard, coming from behind them. As they turned they were greeted by two green eyes that glowed in the dark. Starfire had been watching them, and tripped over an exposed pipe as she backed away from them.
Robin jumped to his feet and ran to the Tamaranian, who turned around and flew away.
"Star! Wait! It's not what you think!"
The princess ignored his pleas and disappeared into the nighttime sky.
Barbara placed a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm so sorry Dick."
Robin fell to his knees.
"And I thought that things couldn't get worse."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
So a bit of Boy Wonder angst to end the chapter.
Also, if you haven't figured it out, I'm using the Batgirl from "The Batman" TV show. The only thing I haven't quite got down with her yet is her wise cracking attitude.
And before the mailbag, I want to make a plug. It's for a story titled "Ganguro" in the Teen Titans section. It is the product of a team effort by 4 other authors and yours truly, and it's published under the account "Zorkaberry Pie". The story was completed yesterday so check it out if you're curious.
And now, the mail bag!
JakeFL - "OH! the two Robins together should be priceless! And you so have to have a scene between this world's Batman and YJ-Robin. Seriously, Dick still worships the guy in YJ. Their relationship hasn't gone down the crapper yet. It would create the perfect tension between the two Robins - one that hates Bats and one that loves him"
So many dynamics, so little time!
titansfan1211 - "epic story :D and if anyone's giving you grief? **** em. this is an awesome story :D"
Thanks!
xKROWEx - "... you do write fight scenes pretty well! I'd say they're a little bit rushed, but I like that in this case, because it definitely adds to the tone, so grrrreat job. -Tony the Tiger great. :D
Curious to see what happens next, as always!"
Thanks! With so many heroes I have to be careful or the fight scenes could become very long.
loony - "pretty good"
Words to live by!
King Kubar - "Good to hear that you aren't stopping, and you tell them! As for the chapter, a good one. I can see how it will lead to the next. Good match up's as well, but that part with Superboy and Starfire was a little confusing. He's not developing feeling for her is he, as I like Superboy and Megan. I will say that a little more detail in the fight would be good but seeing as They're fighting hundreds of robots a piece I can understand. Marking each attack would become tedious, for the writer and reader. I can't wait for the next installment."
Let's just say that Connor can appreciate alien eye candy. But have no worries, his heart belongs to Megan.
LoverofFanfiction - "Hey its me again i really am likeing this so plz continue and i have a feeling Slade is goning to force both of the Robins in being his Apprentice what ever happens let u know AWESOME!"
That would be interesting.
fencingfan - "yay! the story's back! thank you for continuing it. i like where you're going with it just keep it up. :)"
Thanks!
OwlheadAthena - "So, so, SO happy!
I can read this story again now!
And it STILL rocks!"
Thanks!
AzNx dRiFtEr - "Good job! Dn let any1 tell you you can't write cuz u can!"
There's always room for improvement, but thanks!
fanish - "As always good job, the teenagers start big problems, I hope they can help Terra, jeje I laughed with the yjrob's comment. Really I really hope that bat and ttrob have a recojncili
I want see batgirl again"
Babs will be around.
Illucida - "I liked how you included what was happening to the civilians, b/c in the shows they are usually conveniently not there when trouble is around. You write fight scenes very well.
Xenothium powered Slade-bots. Either Deathstroke is really rich, or someone forgot to report that there Xenothium supply was broken into.
Lovely work!
"
Thanks! Slade is resourceful if anything.
Mandy - "As always awesome chapter! The whole snippet between Artemis and Wally near the beginning cracked me up and YJ-Robin's one line "I'll do it! She's hot!" oh pure genius it had me rolling :D Any way glad to see you back."
I'm trying to emphasize that YJ-Robin is more like the classic, wise cracking Robin.
Ferlion- "Word of advice to point out to those complaining?. Teen Titans and Young Justice? Yeah, not a cross over. Both take place in the DC multiverse, and there is no section for DC verse stories.
Since DC comics itself makes use of the multiple dimensions in the world, you doing so is not a cross over. Its doing something thats semi common in the comics."
The same thought has crossed my mind as well.
Walt - "I like your story and all but bumping up chapters to get more view is sort of lame. No offense."
Why? I want as many people as possible to enjoy this story. By bumping the chapters I made sure more people get a chance to see the update.
ferbear - "though i luv ur story, i rlly would have loved to see some more batman-ttrobin interaction. maybe have yjrobin help them fix their relationship and return to the father-son thing they had goin on."
Batsy will come to visit again soon.
Master Doc - "Btw I swear those robots are like the Covenant from Halo on legendary. All built up, seemingly unstoppable, and pulling blades on Raven. Maybe BB will have some company on the "temporarily disabled list""
You guessed right. Also, when I thought of the new Slade-bots I was inspired by the centurions in Battlestar Galactica: ruthless and deadly.
chipmunkswillrule13 - "shun the non-believers! People can be so mean these days... im glad you decided to continue the story"
Thanks!
Riqis Inna Sunja - "That was great! im so super happy that you are continuing! i cant wait for chapter 10!"
Well, here's chapter 10. Chapter 11 might take a little longer as I will be a bit busy in the coming week.
Hallo'sEve - "Can't wait for the next chapter!"
Thanks!
KingofRandom117 - "Uncancelling The story was the best news I got all week!"
I'm glad to know that so many look forward to my updates.
Me - "YAY! You didn't give up! I wish I could give u a bear hug right now. That you so much, I love this story, so ignore the Haters and continue what you do best!"
I don't know what to say, except for thank you!
KaliAnn - "When Slade goes all out he goes all out! You really were creative with the upgrades. I like how they managed to turn a bit of the tide with them. I sincerely hope that everyone makes it out of this fight okay."
It was close, especially for Raven, who now believes she owes Terra a debt (even though the whole thing was staged by Slade).
xXCanaryXx - "Far prettier than Artemis or Meagan ey? I disagree, but, you may think that. Guess im just a big Meagan fan. Heh. :P (he never said Star was prettier then Rae tho. :o) just jokinv. xD"
Maybe I wasn't fair to Megan, she is kind of cute. I was tempted to pair her and Beast Boy up, but that would have been weird, and a certain gray demoness would have needed to take a detour to Nevermore.
FullMetal Alchemistress - "Anyways, I have taken the time to tell you how much I love your story and you're artwork! Oh my gosh your art is amazing as well! (I'm rabidxtoaster on DevArt BTW)"
I wish I could say that artwork was mine, but it was made by felynxtiger.
Viviana - "¡Estoy feliz porque te decidieras a seguir la historia!
Me dejaste intrigada con lo que les pasará a los equipos, al final igual cayeron redondito en la trampa de Slade. Sólo falta ver qué les pasará a Megan/Cy y a los Robins.
Definitivamente me encanta el Robin de YJ, es tan indiscreto que llega a dar risa.
¡Que estés bien!"
El Robin de los YJ es mas parecido al Robin "Clasico" de las historietas: indiscreto y guason.
TheNightwingfan - "I am really glad that you decided not to cancel this! It's exciting and I'm excited for more Robin/Robin."
I hope their interaction in this chapter didn't disappoint.
Kitty723 - "Thanks 4 continuing! I love this story, can't wait 4 the next chapter"
Thanks!
titanfan45 - "Glad you're back Force! I'll bet the overwhelming response from your fans made you feel pretty good! Anyway, great chapter as always. Got a good laugh out of YJ Robin's "I'm a guy, so sue me!" line. Poor Raven, She sure catches hell in your stories doesn't she? I hope someone gets to her in time to prevent her becoming a "Raven-ka-bob". As I said, I'm glad you're back. Rock On my friend! "
Thanks (Just so everyone knows, titanfan is a fellow author!)
Barbiegirl 22 - "thank you for continuing keep up the good work"
Thanks
SuperninjaX - "I LOVE YOU!(not literally)"
Aww! Now I feel all let down! (j/k)
Blood of the Dawn - "Yay! You're back! Again I'm sorry about the whole bumping the chapter thing. It was mostly the result of lack of sleep and the fact I was sad you hadn't actually updated."
It's OK; I'm just surrised that so many here complained about bumping chapters. No one ever did in the Titans section.