So two updates in such a short period of time, after so long... It's kind of surreal! But the end is in sight! Hope you enjoy Chapter 12!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Teen Titans

Chapter 12: The End Is Nigh

"Plan of attack, Cpt. Bordeaux?"

"Pretty simple, X. Fully expect barricades here, here, and here..." her fingers dotted across a map laid out before them in the truck, the bouncing light of the flashlight making Cyborg sick to look at it.

"How can you be so sure?"

She smiled that predatory smile again. "Easy, that's exactly what I would do. These are the main choke points for getting into the city. And of course, you know they're gonna have support out the ass right here." She gestured to a square in the middle of the city. "Perez Square. The thin line between order and chaos in this town."

"Can we expect artillery, air support, armour from them?"

"Hard to say... we destroyed a lot of it back there... I'd been doing a little sabotage all evening in preparation, too... but of course they've got other ways to get it. If so, we'd better hope your metas are ready for a fight. Cuz any of that and my men are just gonna be cut to ribbons. And I'm not gonna die just for an idea. I want results. And if I walk, you can bet they're not gonna be far behind."

X nodded. "You mean your support isn't guaranteed?" His tone implied that he was smiling himself, that skull mask hiding his true emotions.

She laughed. "'fraid not, slugger. I only back the winning side, you knew that when you first met me."

"CAPTAIN!" the call came from one of the two soldiers in the front cab of the truck. "You might wanna see this." Both Bordeaux and Red X peaked through an opening into the front. What had once been a barricade was smoke and rubble, with dozens of odd looking individuals milling about in front. A small dark girl clad entirely in black was standing directly in their path as the trucks slowed to a stop.

Red X looked at the Captain. "I'd say my metas were ready for a fight."

xxx

"They folded like wet cardboard." explained Raven, walking with Cyborg, Cpt. Bordeaux, Red X, with Jinx following just behind them. "We were waiting on you guys. I think their morale is pretty badly broken, but I'm not going to make any guarantees."

"Did you kill Tara?"

Cyborg finally spoke. "Terra? Wait, Terra is here?"

Red X sighed. "Tara is their ultimate weapon. She's a meta traitor who does Black Ops for them whenever it's convenient. She's a killing machine is what she is."

Raven couldn't meet Cy's eyes. "She and Garfield used to be... ummm..."

"Very close." he finished for her. She met his gaze and nodded.

She turned back to X. "But to answer your question, no. We haven't seen her since we left the prison. It makes me anxious, I won't lie. I want her out of the picture. She's a Wild Card, and I don't like that one bit." She paused and looked around. "Wait, where are Kori and Garfield?"

"Garfield was captured, and Kori went to rescue him. We haven't heard from them since we left the National Guard camp."

Raven looked visibly upset. "And you... you didn't try to find them?"

Red X shook his head. "They can take care of themselves, Raven. We need to be looking at the big picture here. I can guarantee that they are fine, and that they will aid us when it is convenient."

"You can't guarantee that, and you know it. You just left them out to dry?"

"Raven! We are wasting enough time as it is! The more we stand around talking, the more time we give them to fortify the Council's headquarters by Perez Square. The more time we give them to call in reinforcements. The less time we have to finish this. Look, I'm sorry if it all sounds uncaring to you, but it's not. A good general expects sacrifices, ok? You can't just stop because of some friends. Because then you've sacrificed them for nothing."

Cyborg and Raven exchanged a shocked glance. "So you went from guaranteeing their safety to saying they're probably dead?" shot Cyborg. Cpt. Bordeaux looked exceptionally bored by all of this. Jinx had moved closer to Raven, like a child near her mother.

X grunted. "No, I'm not saying that... look, do you think this is easy to me? Eyes on the prize, people. Star can take care of herself, Beast Boy can take care of himself. Everybody in the trucks. We've got to take this city before it's too late. We're hours away from daylight, and then a blackout will be useless to us."

Red X walked away without saying another word, not looking behind him. Cpt. Bordeaux made a signal to her men, who had been standing around conversing with the metas. The casualness of the situation made Cyborg smile despite himself. "Well well well, it looks like we're all human after all..."

xxx

John Turbit was freaking out, to put it simply.

"Eric! Where is dad's gun! I need it Eric! Oh god, oh god oh god oh god..."

His silent butler placed a revolver on the table in front of him. "Where it has always been, Sir. In the safe next to your liquor cabinet."

Turbit was sweating profusely. He had returned home thinking of sleeping, but the events of the night had brought him to absolute panic. "Th-thank you, Eric. Oh god... I won't let them take me alive... I know what those rebel groups do to people like me... France... Russia... Up against the wall, motherfucker!" He emitted a crazed laugh at that. Eric watched him with a morbid curiosity, but his face did not betray any emotions.

The door to his study slid open and in walked Brother Blood. Turbit grabbed his pistol instinctively and pointed it at the pontiff. He sighed and sounded like a deflating balloon, lowering the pistol.

"Blood! You scared the shit out of me."

"I certainly hope not."

"Ha ha. What are you doing here? I thought you said-"

"Change of plans, Mr. Turbit. It seems things are a bit more dire than we thought. So desperate times call for desperate measures. Citizen X is dissolving the council and placing all the power in his own hands. As of now, all of your assets are under the city's control. That includes that private security firm you thought we didn't know about."

Turbit turned very pale. "You... you can't do this! You can't do this! My father... you can't do this!" He pointed the gun at the robed man. "I'll fucking kill you, you goddamn psychopath! You've brainwashed Citizen X! You can't do this!"

"Not terribly original, are you John? I was hoping this would go easier than the others, but evidently not." His eyes began to glow red.

John began grunting, animalistic noises that reminded Eric of a pig. His own eyes took on a red hue, and slowly the pistol in his hand began to move to the side of his head. He could only stare, eyes as wide as possible and looking as far to the side as he could, as his own hand cocked the hammer. "You can't do-" Within a second it was over.

"Frightfully messy, Sir." offered Eric, reaching into his jacket pocket and drawing a silenced pistol of his own.

Brother Blood did not reply, only staring at the fat man's corpse. Finally, he spoke. "Come along, Eric." The silent man trailed behind Brother Blood, weapon drawn, as they made their out of the mansion and into the chaotic night.

xxx

Casualties had been lower than expected as the mob made its way into the heart of the city. A surprising number of police and soldiers simply surrendered outright, dropping their weapons, raising their hands in peace and disappearing into the alleyways to live another day. The rebellion had not yet reached Perez Square, so nobody was counting anything over just yet.

As dawn broke, Red X and his inner circle sat inside a cafe with the windows blown out. They could have no coffee, of course, with no power, but they sat and scoured over their map yet again to prepare for their final strike.

"It's gone very well, no question. But it's not over yet. Blood is still alive, Citizen X is still alive... Tara is still alive, as far as we know. And of course there are still plenty of loyal soldiers to face. We've done very well, but we can't start planning the victory parade down Wolfman Street just yet." X sounded happier than he had in a very, very long time... longer than Cyborg had certainly known him. But there was a sadness that seemed to hang on his every word. Cyborg couldn't quite place it, but he had a feeling why it was there.

"Still no word from... Star and Beast Boy?" he offered. Red X looked down again and sighed. He didn't say anything, but it was clearly a 'no'.

"Victor, Cyborg, whatever... I guess you're wondering why the hell you're still here. I know I am."

Cyborg was taken aback by this surprise attack. "Excuse me?"

"I'm... never mind, I'm sorry. It's just... you won't fight, you won't help us plan... what are you doing?"

"I will fight. I just know who it is I must fight. I know why I'm here now. I'm going to destroy Brother Blood. I'm going to bring down Citizen X."

Raven stepped in. "No offense, but you don't have any powers here. I'm not trying to be cruel, but killing Brother Blood is going to take all of our strength. You're a strong human, but... you're, um..."

Cyborg grimaced. "Just a human, eh?" He couldn't believe it. He'd been so used to being a superhuman his entire life that it never occurred to him just how limiting it could be to be human.

"That's not what I meant. Believe me, this idiotic 'us vs. them' rhetoric is driving me crazy, too. I'm just saying you can't assume you're going to be the one to destroy one of the most powerful men in the city."

Red X nodded. "You can help us, sure. But don't do anything stupid. In a way, you've done everything for us, Victor. You've gotten this boulder rolling. And no matter how hard they try, they can't stop us now. But they'll keep trying. I'm pleased to see you take some initiative, but I think you're being naive, personally."

Cyborg nodded, and said nothing for a moment. "Well, I think I'm going to surprise you all."

Everybody exchanged odd glances. "How can you be so sure?" offered Jinx.

"I... I don't know. But trust me. I've got a feeling in my gut. And it's never wrong."

xxx

"Great, power's still out. Now I'll never know who won the hockey game." mumbled Frost. He was sitting in the twilight of the morning at his desk at the police station, his Captain sitting mere feet away, staring out the window at the rising sun.

"Mammoths probably lost anyway. They suck." replied Apone, his heart clearly not in his words.

"You OK, cap'n?"

"No, I'm not Frost. I'm sick of all this bullshit. What are we doing? What is the point?"

"I... I don't think I follow you, Captain."

Apone sighed and stood up, groaning. They had been on the road in the middle of a blizzard for most of the night, and it had clearly taken its toll. "Go home, Frost. See your family. Don't die simply for a paycheque. Be with the ones you love."

"Captain... I, uh... I don't gotta family..."

The Captain laughed at that. It wasn't mean spirited, but it was certainly unexpected. "Why don't you come see mine? We'll have a decent breakfast... uhhh..." he remembered the power blackout. "Well, you'll be among friends anyway."

Frost sat in silence before standing up. "Let's go, cap."

The radio suddenly burst to life, a loud, panicked noise on the other end. "ALL UNITS, PLEASE BE ADVISED... COUNCIL ORDERS ALL AVAILABLE UNITS TO PEREZ SQUARE... REPEAT, ALL-" The Captain twisted a knob and the radio fell silent.

"Ummm... shouldn't we..."

"Nope."

"But... but we should at least help those guys out..."

The Captain pulled on his jacket and made his way out the door. "If they don't get it now, they never will. Come on if you're coming, Frost."

Frost sniffed, grabbed his jacket, and followed his captain out the door into the brand new day.

xxx

The fighting in front of Perez Square had been exceptionally difficult. Heavy casualties had been expected, and had occurred. The men's morale was high, though, and eventually they broke through. By this point it seemed like mercenaries were doing most of the fighting for the Council, men in suits with much nicer weapons than both the police and National Guard. They fought like rabid wolves, but they died just like any other person.

When it seemed like the beginning of the end, however, something new had developed. It felt like an earthquake at first, but a sick feeling grew in the stomachs of those that new the truth.

"Fuck... Tara..." grunted Raven, looking at Jinx. The pink-haired teen replied with an expression of anxiousness, but not fear.

"Everybody, defensive positions!" yelled Red X. The soldiers began to run for cover when an explosion tore the flag pole in front of the Council Building from the ground, sending it flying several blocks away. Rising up on a mound of dirt was the same blonde in the brown suit Raven had known well. She stood in silence, a grim smile on her face. The soldiers attempted potshots, but rising shields of rock and concrete prevented their bullets from touching her.

"Give it up, Tara!" yelled Red X. "Your council's strength is depleted! It's over! You've lost! Just give yourself up!"

The blonde began to laugh maniacally. "What? And leave all this? No way!" she yelled, launched a wave of stone tentacles from the ground behind many of the surprised soldiers, impaling many of them as the rest broke ranks and began to retreat away from the square. Some stood their ground and fired, but the blonde had encased herself in a stone shell. More tentacles ripped them apart. Within a matter of seconds the group's Ragged Army had been broken severely.

Cpt. Bordeaux sighed. "Well, they tried..." was all she could say, reaching over her shoulder and pulling out a shotgun. She began to march towards Tara calmly, blasting her tendrils to bits with blasts from her shotgun. Tara looked incredibly amused.

"Sasha! What the fuck are you doing?" yelled Red X, Raven having produced a shield to protect the remaining members of the army. Cpt. Bordeaux ignored him, moving forward with great determination until she was up close to her enemy.

"You'll die like the rest, you stupid bitch." she chuckled. A stone sheath shot from the ground and wrapped itself around Bordeaux's right arm, encasing both her shotgun as well. With a disgusting tearing sound, the sheath pulled off quickly, annihilating the shotgun and pulling the skin off of the Captain's arm. Tara laughed, but the Captain was eerily quiet. It became apparent why.

"Didn't expect this, did you?" said the Captain, lifting a cybernetic arm up, the skin torn off but the robotics in great shape. She suddenly backhanded Tara across the face, shattering her nose and spraying blood everywhere. The normally composed psychopath screamed in surprise and agony.

Her eyes shot pure rage at her enemy. "You think that meant fuck all, don't you? DIE YOU FUCKING BITCH!" she bellowed suddenly, shooting rock tentacles in her direction from multiple angles. Cpt. Bordeaux managed to dodge and deflect most of them until one of them finally penetrated her lower right side, popping out just below her left armpit. Cpt. Bordeaux's breath caught in her throat at the feeling before everything went numb. The tentacle stood rigid, keeping the Captain in place like a statue.

The Ragged Army was completely silent now. Tara looked at them, blood dripping from her chin. "You fuckers will all die like her. I'm not doing this because I agree with anything anymore. I'm doing this because I feel nothing but hate. And you're all going to feel it too." She began to move towards the crowd menacingly.

Suddenly, emerald bolts began to rain down from the sky, exploding all around Tara. She looked to the sky and screamed in anger.

Starfire and Beast Boy (disguised as a hawk) swooped down from the sky. Garfield landed directly next to Red X, shifting back into a person. Raven brought her shield forward to protect him too.

"Yeah, Starfire!" yelled Red X, thankful his mask disguised the sheepish look on his face.

Star made a second pass, blasting apart several stone tendrils yet again.

"While she's got her off guard! Attack!" yelled Red X, and suddenly Raven's shield dropped and the metas were advancing upon what had formerly seemed such an invulnerable figure.

Red X ran across the small park in front of the Council Building, diving next to the dying body of Cpt. Bordeaux in front of what was formerly the flagpole but was now just a huge pit. One of Star's bolts had blown the bottom half of the tendril off, and the Captain was now laying stiffly in the grass.

"What happened to not wanting to die?" he asked the Captain, blood pouring from her nose and mouth. "That was exceptionally ballsy for somebody who only backs the winning side and has no interest in dying in a cause."

"Well... I guess I just didn't want to die for a *losing* cause. I said I wanted results. So make sure this isn't a fucking losing cause."

"Seriously though, why did you do that? That was-"

Bordeaux coughed blood, the stone slab in her side shaking. "I don't fucking know. Seemed like a good idea... good idea at the... time..." She coughed once more and fell very still. Red X couldn't help but shake his head. People will always surprise you... he thought to himself. He looked up to find Tara defending herself rather easily. Despite the sheer masses coming at her, she was able to hold her own. The level of her power is exceptional... I've never seen anybody like her...

He absently looked towards the Council Building and saw Brother Blood and a dark figure standing on the balcony in the dawn, watching the violence beneath them.

We can win this thing... and now... he thought to himself, looking over towards Cyborg. Everybody was doing what they could to stop Tara, he couldn't risk letting the true culprits get away. He ran back towards the rear line, diving over a car and landing next to Cyborg.

"Brother Blood is up there, and it looks like Citizen X too. You up for ending this?"

Cyborg looked very surprised. "No more doubts about me, I take it?"

"Well, to be honest, everybody else has their hands full right now, don't you think?"

"Yeah, good point. Let's do this." He turned to Raven, who was attempting to create shields to defend the various metas in the fray. "Rae! Can you get us in that building?"

Raven looked over, utterly exhausted. She turned to Jinx and said something. The pink haired figure seemed to take over the role, pink arcs deflecting stone tendrils as Raven turned to the duo.

"Wait! What about me?" yelled Beast Boy, who looked just terrible. One of his eyes was swollen shut, and he was covered in bloodstains and gruesome bruises.

"You should probably-" began Red X.

"I'm not sitting this out! I'm in for the long haul!"

"Then stop Tara!"

Beast Boy shook his head. "How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"

"You'll think of something! There has to be an animal out there that can beat her!" Red X then signaled to Raven, who proceeded to envelop them into a shield as they ran towards the building, phasing through the door at the last second.

Beast Boy chewed on his lip. He looked over, amazed that Tara was still up and fighting. She was like a wild animal, guttural, angry noises coming from her. Suddenly, it hit him. He shifted into a hummingbird and flew towards the fight.

He dodged flying bodies and debris, trying to maintain his bearing despite all the anarchy. Finally, he hovered above his former lover, and shifted once again...

...into a blue-ringed octopus, which promptly fell onto her shoulder. He bit trough her uniform and deep into her flesh, and she screamed out. She swatted him away, but it was too late. The venom was now coursing through her veins. He shifted back into human form, walking back over to her as she began to weaken and slowly crumple to the ground. The rest of the metas began to get up and form a ring around her.

She seemed to be trying to regain her strength and fight on, but the effects of the paralysis were setting in swiftly. Within seconds she was lying on her back, her eyes barely slits, her breathing very weak. Garfield crawled up beside her despite himself.

"I... I can't believe... how..." she gasped.

"Shhh... don't speak. You don't have much time left."

"We... we could have had it all, you know... complete control..."

"And look where complete control got you."

"I don't... don't need a sermon... When the time comes... you'll... know where... to find me..." she could hardly breathe now. She was so rigid, and within seconds her breathing had ceased completely. Her lifeless eyes gazed into the sunny sky. It was the first time Beast Boy noticed that the snowstorm had broken with the dawn. It was far too overwhelming, and he found himself crying softly.

"Good-bye, Tara..." was all he could choke out before Raven grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up, guiding him away from the corpse and towards a nearby bench. He collapsed into himself, the weight of the entire evening seeming to bring him down completely. He stared off into a daze, Raven holding him still. He had stopped crying now, and a look of peace seemed to drift onto his face.

One of us is going to live to regret this, you know.

To Be Completed!