Disclaimer: You think what? I assure you, I do not own the Teen Titans.
Betaed by: Zim'smostloyalservant
"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."
- Algernon, Oscar Wilde
Deception
Years Ago, Somewhere Underground:
Raven pulled her lips back as Slade's fist clipped her shoulder. Her purple hair swung about in sweaty clumps as she backpedaled, torturing to hold a flexible stance.
"Still not breathing hard. Your stamina has improved. Left," he called out before his left hand struck out. Raven could tell she wouldn't be able to dodge it. Instead she blocked with the armor on her forearms, trying to roll with it. The metal clanged and she still felt the impact enough to expect bruising later.
Still on her feet, she kept retreating, trying to avoid being forced into a corner. The armor protected everything but her head to some extent. Once she would have thought that meant he'd keep it below the neck. She wasn't as foolish as she had been.
Or as weak, she grinned briefly. True, he was holding back and still winning, and calling out which arm he was going to strike with, kicks having yet to appear. But she was lasting much longer now.
"Right," Slade called out. She braced herself, eyes swiveling to see what kind of blow was coming. His left fist slammed into her cheek, sending her to the floor.
"Failure," Slade declared, standing over his apprentice. Raven slowly came to her knees, vision still fuzzy. Despite the sensitivity, she felt over the injury, nothing obviously broken.
"You said right," she told him confused.
"I lied. But only with my mouth. My body language screamed the truth. If you can't read the most naked intents, you will always find yourself deceived and defeated on the battlefield," Slade told her. She nodded, before a towel was tossed over her head, covering it.
She pulled it off to find herself alone in the training room.
Present Day, Undisclosed Location:
Robin leaned against the wall, almost wishing the punch in his cup was spiked. It wasn't that Batman might find out about this; he would. What he dreaded was Nightwing and the others' commentary.
Jinx had actually pulled off the flying, and he should be happy his team's performance had improved. Yet still he stood here, dressed as a character from Scooby Doo, only retaining his mask and the meager scrap of dignity it afforded.
Maybe if he took off the mask no one would have recognized him?
He looked out over the party in the hall, seeing the pristine ocean through the high windows on the opposite wall.
People who work in disguise gathering for a masquerade. Something poetic in that he supposed. Or maybe just sadly ironic.
"That's a Bat Disciple for you, even at a party meant to relax, you remain on edge," a deep amused voice called out. Robin turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at the speaker. The famed Martian Manhunter himself, dressed in a tuxedo. Robin supposed that qualified as a costume for him.
"It does, though the novelty of this party is a bit wasted on a shapeshifter.
"I didn't read your mind, it was written on your face," J'onn smiled at the stern expression he was given. He took a place next to Robin at the wall, watching the party progress.
"I can't believe you would come here," Robin commented.
"The others were insistent I take more time off; they worry I will burn myself out manning the Watchtower. Normally I would go away from people, but I felt a desire to change pace this time. Why are you here though?" J'onn asked.
"Lost a bet with a teammate," Robin answered lowly. The Martian grinned at the antics of young Earthers; it was especially good to see in one of Batman's grim wards.
"Jinx or Beast Boy, I imagine. Beast Boy has an excellent record and Jinx was one of our better prospects; you were fortunate to get them," J'onn commented. They both knew he wasn't just talking about their practical skills. Silence hung between the two as the music switched from upbeat to slow.
"Robin, we know you have a threat in Jump," the Manhunter admitted.
"We can handle it," Robin answered.
"When you don't trust your own team?" he asked. Again silence.
"Very well, you're well within your rights on this. Though I advise you not to let pride endanger your team if matters get out of hand.
"There's another matter I want you to look after, a personal one," J'onn continued. Robin turned his head slightly to show he had the majority of his attention on the senior hero. J'onn knew better than to think a Bat Disciple gave their undivided attention to anything ever.
"The entity, Razor. I would like her to be a priority capture for you."
"Why?" Robin demanded in a polite tone.
"Because, I am partially to blame for her state of mind, or lack thereof, I should say.
"It's confidential, but sufficient to say she was mutated to be a soldier and mind-controlled to obey. I freed her from the Brain's control, but made a costly, disastrous mistake.
"I have an obligation Robin; he may have done the damage, but I failed to save her sentience from collapse. I don't ask this on behalf of the League," the Manhunter explained. He sounded far away, likely recalling the incident he was hinting at.
Robin didn't give a verbal answer, but the Green Martian seemed satisfied, and spotting his young protégée by the buffet excused himself in silence.
Robin watched him go, weighing and calculating the conversation. Bruce had told him that the Manhunter was the most trustworthy of all the old guard Leaguers, followed by Flash, due to the Martian being more even-keeled.
The request seemed innocent enough, but the Watchtower seemed ever more political and all the things that came with it. So different from the first League when he had been up a few times. Then, it had been nothing but clear – an alliance of the world's best, pooling their resources and skills to deal with threats to the globe and other trouble.
Now it was very much an organization with hierarchies, competing agendas, and secrets. It only took one secret to unravel the original Justice League.
All the more reason to keep the Watchtower out of his business. He carried on the ideals of that first League in the Titans; someone had to.
But he would try and grant the request… after investigating Razor a bit himself.
Meanwhile:
Jinx stepped off the dance floor, wiping some sweat from her brow. Her Velma costume was hot, and not in the attractive way. Still, she stuck by this being one of her best ideas ever. Cyborg dressed up like Fred, wig and all, would be worth it. Robin as Shaggy – priceless.
"Having fun?" someone asked directly behind her. Jinx tensed at being blindsided, but considering the company, it was to be expected, she supposed. Turning, she saw the speaker was a tall, burly looking man; at least, she thought so. Their costume was a black-checkered harlequin outfit with a domino mask.
"It's a party," Jinx answered, smiling. He leaned down almost to her height and she felt an urge to take a step back when she heard it.
"The white glove is extended," she heard him say, knowing no one else did.
"Better shake," she answered a bit shakily. Silence fell over them and Jinx glanced around to see time had stopped everything in its tracks, except him and her.
"I thought this wasn't supposed to happen," Jinx accused with half-hearted vigor. The harlequin leaned forward, a gesture more intimidating than rearing back to his height could possibly be. She got the impression of a bird about to peck a bug from the ground.
"The Good Man sent me; he's worried about you," he told her.
"Oh, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine," Jinx answered. She took a step back and he pulled back some to regard her from under his mask.
"He was getting a bit worried; deep cover can be trying. It can make you question things, forget where your true loyalties lie. He's a very good man, but he is not so naive.
"Good job with those nightmares, the ones you saw and heard about. Excellent data, simply excellent," he trilled deeply.
"Well, I didn't get it all," Jinx offered, taking a deep breath.
"Four out of five is good. Besides, Robin isn't vital, you need to keep focused on the boy, he's the important one there," the harlequin reminded her.
"There's nothing, he's put it behind him, I'm sure of it. The Doom Patrol is as dead as their Chief," Jinx insisted.
"Hmm, yet the dreams don't lie.
"Don't think too much; we all have our part to play, and we must trust the Good Man's judgment, or everything comes tumbling down," he told her, coming back to his full height. Rummaging at his belt, he tossed something to Jinx, which she caught.
"You aren't very important, and as good as he is, there's a limit to forgiveness, especially in the face of treachery. The colors change, but the role is the same," he told her. Jinx opened her hands and saw what he had given her – a simple white plastic chess pawn.
Sound came back, and she glanced around to see time had restarted. She slipped the chess piece into her pocket and decided to see if anyone had spiked the punch.
The harlequin watched her go, frowning under his mask.
"Oh, I know who that is! You made it buddy," Booster Gold called out. He walked up to the harlequin costumed man, dressed like a Wild West sheriff, save for the still present mask.
"Great costume, but you can't fool Booster Gold," the glory hound preened.
"You mean your robot scanned me and told you. Honestly, learn to play the horn before you blow it man," he chided, before clapping Booster on the shoulder and diving into a discussion on how they could both shake the B-list for the big time.
Two Days Later, Jump City:
Midnight sat sedately on a crate in the warehouse, her armored form half illuminated in the darkness by the laptop sitting in front of her. She watched the news feed playing out on it expressionlessly.
"Back to our breaking news at ARES Research Labs, the situation seems to have stabilized, the intruder having fled the scene. The intruder has been identified as the Metahuman terrorist Ricardo Guerra, who has notably plagued our city by releasing a number of dangerous criminals from captivity.
"He has fled the scene of the crime with the Titans in pursuit; his capture has yet to be confirmed.
"Wait, we have received confirmation that the object of theft in this break in was retrieved and is back in the hands of ARES security-" Midnight flicked it closed and rose to her feet, the darkness offering little hindrance to her or the massive man she heard approaching.
"You didn't get the chip."
"Si, as you said, try to get it and rile them up. I acted like I didn't notice when those silly shuriken cut the bag from my belt. I told them you would have those chips, if not tonight then soon, as you paid me to," Guerra reported. Midnight smiled slightly as she tossed him his payment.
ARES Laboratories:
Robin knelt by the blast door, inspecting the crime scene in the vault Guerra had so recently ripped open. He rose as he heard Cyborg approach from within. The atmosphere was uncomfortable with the armored ARES security troops – "guards" hardly fitting them in his opinion – hovering about.
"Anything?" Robin asked.
"Nothing but what I expected; it was Guerra, which we already knew. I mean, what do you expect to find? That it was a robot disguised as Guerra playing us for fools or something?" Cyborg responded tiredly. Robin had been more intense then usual after the fear monster incident – whatever he had seen had worked him over but good.
Cyborg resisted a shudder as Robin turned away, inquiring a trooper for something. Robin had been ready to kill Jinx coming out of that nightmare; his scanners had recorded the Boy Wonder's readings, they spelled out murder as best as things could. Jinx was hardly his favorite person, but she was a Titan, and even without that…
He was certain it all came back to Midnight. The girl showing up and threatening the others with Robin not being there was just as much to blame.
"Well, I'm glad we insure for overpowered mercenaries," a familiar voice broke in. The troopers somehow stood a bit straighter as Raven Wilson walked in, shadowed by her bodyguard. Despite the hour, she was well dressed in a business suit with respectable skirt of matching dark blue. Had she been working late or just dressed up for the occasion, Cyborg wondered?
She spared him a smile before turning her attention to Robin. The Boy Wonder could tell the smile for him was false and meant to be spotted as such.
"ARES Jump offers its thanks Robin, it's good to have the new model back," Raven thanked him. She extended a pale hand for a shake and received nothing. Smiling wider, she crossed her arms behind her back, looking amused by his intensity.
"He was acting on behalf of a very dangerous criminal; what can that chip be used for?" Robin demanded.
"That is what we call classified. Though I will say it would be easier to say what it can't do, at least when all the bugs are worked out," Raven conceded.
"You're not helping," Robin informed her. Raven pulled her hands up in a gesture of helplessness. Cyborg found it amusing, while Robin just scowled deeper.
"I'm just the local management, it's not my place to reveal valuable secrets. Bedsides, our clients would not like the likes of you to know such things.
"Besides, there is no legal obligation to assist a private group like yourselves. What's say I treat the two of you to a fine meal though, as a gesture of my gratitude?" Raven inquired. Cyborg was not one to turn down free food, but he already knew Robin's answer, and by extension his own.
"We have to get going," Robin told her, and by extension him. Robin walked past her out of the vault, letting her give a wave to Cyborg behind the other Titan's back. Cyborg returned it with a nod before joining his team leader.
She watched them go, amused by how close, and yet how far, they were from their goal. It would almost be a pity when this ended.
Raven resisted the urge to drum her fingers on the steel expanse before her. A metal table, it would have fit in her lair, but it hardly seemed appropriate for a conference room at ARES. She made a mental note to get it replaced; like most of her predecessor's bright ideas, it was a flop.
It was too late for a meeting, especially this one. She could cherry pick what she did and didn't do, but pride and cover demanded she stick with it once committed. Stupid researchers, rescheduling when she was supposed to be training; if squirming hadn't been practically beaten out of her, she would be doing it as the sweaty man explained what she already knew.
Honestly, when it came to the mechanical side of this operation, she seemed to know more than her employees!
When he asked her opinion, she resisted the urge to tell the sweaty man he was boring and fired. She elected to offer praise that was possibly sarcastic, so he wouldn't be able to tell if she was bored and pleased, or showing thinly veiled displeasure. Let him squirm in turn.
As she opened her mouth, putting her hand over the papers she had been given earlier but made a point to not look at, her phone rang. More importantly, the jingle was one reserved for certain occasions the security system contacted her for.
"What the hell?" Raven exclaimed, pulling out the device as the text lit up, confirming it. Intruder alert.
Nothing was scheduled for tonight.
Someone was actually robbing her? She wasn't certain if she should be angry or amused. She opted for anger, since it was appropriate to express in front of the grunts.
Without a word, she rose and briskly walked out of the conference room, bodyguard falling in behind her. She would get to the bottom of this.
Shortly:
Donald stood behind the cheap rolling chair Raven sat on, lips pressed into a thin line. They sat in a monitor-cramped surveillance room, the security guards thrown out in favor of her entourage. Not that the executive and bureaucratic hanger-ons would contribute anything, but they were just another annoyance to be endured.
The external security footage showed the thief make short work of the Titans. She liked his taste, but the recurring X theme struck her as a bit tacky. She would bet a grand that "X" featured in his nom de plum.
Clichés aside, she couldn't argue with the results. Like her, he seemed to have learned the simplest way to subdue the Titans. Restrain Starfire's arms, attack Cyborg's tech in kind, an adhesive X to rob Jinx of her sight. And most clever of all, a sticky gel substance that contained Beast Boy, despite his shapeshifting.
Thankfully, all he did was humiliate them; intervening under these circumstances would be bothersome. How horrible for her to fail because some no name came out of nowhere and beat her to the goal post? No, horrible wouldn't begin to cover it; and killing the interloper would not make up for failing to do her father's will.
No, she would prove her worth; there would be no doubt she deserved a place at his side.
Her musings were interrupted as someone finally dared to speak up in the room.
"Should we send assistance?" Donald asked after the black-clad skull-masked villain vanished from sight. Raven considered leaving the Titans to either free themselves or wait for Robin to bail them out. Speaking of which, where was the Boy Wonder? The new guy's victory was not as impressive when the full set was not present.
"Send some troops up, tell them not to go out of their way, but see to it they can walk off our property in short order," Raven told him. Besides, it could be seen as a friendly gesture by Cyborg.
"Ma'am, the colonel wants to talk to you," an aide spoke up, stepping into sight and offering her a cell phone. Oh right, the people they were making the chip for, Raven recalled. This was not a good night, she concluded, taking the call.
Later:
Midnight was wishing she could be training now; her muscles twitched at the break from routine. Instead, she stood before a multi-screened terminal scanning the database. Oddly enough, a red x appeared, showing the failure to locate the data she desired.
"Nothing from anywhere," Midnight murmured. Despite the skills and tech displayed, this new player had seemingly come from nowhere. Which was absurd – everything originated from somewhere, and one doesn't just pick up tech and skill like that in their garage.
Though his costume thoroughly concealed his identity… assuming it even was a "he". Perhaps a known commodity operating under a new alias? Just as likely someone's hidden ace being played or cutting loose.
All probabilities called for caution. A light began to flash blue on the keyboard. A call through the secure line reserved for unsavory business. Already armored up, there was no reason to put off the call.
'Speak of the Devil,' she thought as the object of her inquiry's mask filled the screen. Training kept her from showing surprise at this development.
"Well, good evening, or should I say morning," Midnight greeted casually. He stepped back from the communicator, letting his upper body be seen, and the chip he was holding level with his chest.
"Word on the street is you're interested in this," he asked in a digitally distorted monotone.
"For once the word is true. And you are calling for what? A sale, a trade, or perhaps a gift, Mr.…?" she inquired disinterestedly.
"X, Red X," he supplied in an inflection no doubt meant to be cool. A cause that wasn't helped by the fact he was unknowingly trying to sell back what he had stolen. Which alleviated any worries it had been anything deeper than a robbery.
But, to the matter at hand, she decided.
"Red X, how original. You already seem to know about me, so I suppose the question is, what can we do for one another?" Midnight pressed.
"You're planning something big, I want in. Not as a lackey, a full partner," Red X stated. Midnight grinned, trying to read that mask of his.
"My, my, we are a bold one, aren't we? You come out of nowhere and ask for me to invest trust of all things in you. Ambition tends to keep company with foolishness, most would ask for something smaller," Midnight chuckled.
"If I was the type to think small I wouldn't be in this business. I want the fast ticket to the top, and you are the pretty ticket in town," he answered, tossing the chip casually.
"Oh, flattery will get you places, but you may not like the trip. You do know I'm high on the short list for the local white hats?" she asked.
"White, black, it's all so done and tiresome. Gray is more my color," he answered her.
"A charmer, how quaint. Alright, Red X, I'll let you put your foot in the door, but you'll have to pass a certain test before we can talk your price," she decided, giving her best predator grin.
"I'm listening," he stated, tucking the chip out of sight.
"Good, I'm not in the habit of repeating myself," Midnight shot back tauntingly. Fortunately, she had just the thing to put him off while she pursued a thorough and organized investigation before destroying him.
X X X
The standard fighter robot stood stock still before it split down the middle, the two sides both falling back in a heap.
Raven stood amidst the training room littered with robot corpses, wearing only a short sleeved white shirt and black shorts. Plan to fight under any eventuality; even without her armor and the only weapon being a blade she took from one of them, she could defeat six of the robots fully armed. She had actually considered trying one on one in the buff, having read how the state of nudity reduces one's performance.
She could justify entertaining such thoughts because of her skill, the time proven results that showed her steady improvement without a step backwards. A certainty that made theatrics like that last move unnecessary, but which seemed warranted as her expression darkened in anger.
Her right hand slapped on the burn across her left upper arm. Close enough of a shot to burn away the fabric and wound her. How long had it been since that happened with so few drones!
"You are distressed," Ai pointed out unhelpfully, as her robot double walked onto the part strewn floor with a towel and a water bottle. It sill amused Raven, the novelty of seeing herself walking around; did she really sound so monotone though?
"You think?" Raven retorted, slinging the towel over her shoulders and taking a sip of the water. The robot nodded and Raven gave a cryptic giggle at the frankness.
"Stay amusing Ai, you'll live longer," Raven waved the android off, which it took as a cue to leave. Raven frowned now that she was truly alone and slapped the wound before turning it into a squeeze. She brought out the pain of it till it filled her head, and then released it with an angry hiss.
Mistakes could not be afforded this close to her endgame with the Titans. And the matter of Red X, who was ironically an x-factor in Jump City.
Red X… this little incident was his fault, she had to admit it. To herself, but no one else, ever.
That line about gray being his favorite color, that was what kept coming back. Most likely a reference to morality on a color-coded scale. In fact, it was fairly obvious. But his tone and word choice seemed to indicate something more.
'Tone? His voice was freaking audio altered!' she raged to herself. The closest robot corpse exploded a bit, prompting her to take a deep breath.
Honestly, yes, it sounded like he was admiring her skin. She had no shortage of admirers, but that was her public mask, all painted for their amusement, that they were interested in. Her own (beauty?) was not something that got appreciated. Those dunderhead demigods didn't count; they were so clearly beneath her after all.
So was this Red X, right?
Seeing a rather literal red, Raven began to stomp the robot remains into still more scrap.
X X X
Raven sat in front of the terminal, the remote control held lightly in her hand. Razor laid at her feet, curled up, making a small metal on metal sound as she breathed, relaxed. And why shouldn't she be relaxed when her "big sis" was at ease? Raven reclined in the chair and hit the rewind button again.
A lovely melee it had been. The Titans were no fools and had done their best to plug the holes Red X had poked through them last time. Cyborg did something to his systems, shutting out the short circuit before it began. Jinx took her x-patch to the arm, which still seemed painful, as it constricted the appendage. Yet both Titans remained in the game, pursuing the mysterious and powerful thief through the subway station.
Then, the break in character; she watched yet again as the villain saved the plucky green hero.
It could be a sense of honor, but Red X came across as unscrupulous, with pride as the closest thing. Or perhaps he didn't want to bring down the heat of a hero fatality on himself? Yet his stated ambition was to shoot to the top.
It could be explained away, save for the missing element.
"Oh Robin, you are still a boy playing at a man's game," Raven smirked. A control freak like him might miss twice, but under these circumstances it became obvious to her. The entire set up was a trap for her – it could now be dismissed, her mind clearing anew.
She would turn this trap of his back on the Boy Wonder.
Sleep beckoned, but she found herself preferring to get an early start on her plans.
'You fear the dreams, the fires,' a familiar voice admonished her. She pushed it aside, with a frown; she was no little girl to be frightened of bad dreams.
In the shadows cast by the screens, Ai watched and smiled, purple pupils flashing red for a moment.
The Next Night:
Robin frowned under his mask as he walked through the dark vault. It was exasperating how they displayed the chip like a museum piece. Everything else was locked up in cabinets or walk in mini vaults across this chamber, but this seemed to almost be begging to be stolen.
'Am I blaming the company for making this easy?' he thought to himself.
This skirted too close to the line; these crimes were real, even as he planned to return what he had taken. And there was danger, as demonstrated by Beast Boy's brush with a subway train.
But it was worth it to end this Midnight business. She was a killer from a young age, as Cyborg could testify, and he doubted whoever trained her had failed to build on that foundation. She was a powerful and skilled killer; the only question was whether that lethality would be unleashed on the city directly or if she first decided to remove its protectors.
She spared Cyborg and Beast Boy at Star Labs and showed herself to have powerful subordinates and military might in her robots. And even if she had told the truth about that abomination, she again had weakened Titans at her mercy and decided to leave them be.
Something was coming – whatever she was planning was proceeding apace, an unseen disease creeping through his city.
He couldn't keep reacting, waiting and hoping she would mess up and somehow tip her hand.
It was necessary; Red X was a grim necessity, a flu shot sickening to combat a deadlier disease.
'You will pay for making me stoop so low,' Robin promised as he pulled the chip free. Then the lights came on, and despite years of training and experience he was left stunned.
Midnight's robots lined the upper level balcony, and a dozen larger robots such as those that had attacked the tower surrounded him.
"How," he slipped, before drawing himself up.
"With great difficulty, but that reaction was worth it. If only I could see some of your face," Midnight answered. Two of the looming bots stepped back, opening a space for her to walk in. She stopped about two meters from where he stood, eyes resting on the chip in his hand before smiling and placing one hand on her hip and tossing back her cloak.
"That's three, so what's the answer?" Robin demanded. He pulled out the other chips, holding their cousin in his grasp.
"The answer… alright. As sexy as you may be under that skull, I just don't feel like I can commit to a long-term… thing at this point. Maybe we can be friends," Midnight mused. A metal net suddenly shot out from nowhere, snagging the chips out of Robin's hand and flying up into Midnight's.
Robin took a step forward, drawing an X-arang, when the vault door blew open. Cyborg led the charge as the Titans took the robots in the rear before they could react.
"And that would be my cue," Midnight remarked. Robin looked back to see her leap onto the balcony.
"No!" he shouted, moving to pursue the villain. He was brought up short as a metal hand grabbed his cape.
"Not so fast dirt bag!" Cyborg declared smugly, pulling his free hand back for a punch.
"Stop, it's-!" Starfire yelled, flying over the melee to them.
"Me!" Robin finished, ripping off the skull mask.
"Wha?" Cyborg's face was filled with confusion and his grip released. There was no time to explain; he turned and whipped out a cable, swinging up to the balcony as he saw Midnight exit through a hole in the upper wall. A boom below stopped him at the cusp of the exit.
"Hola," Ricardo Guerra greeted the Titans as he rose from his crouch.
"You again?" Cyborg asked, as the others fought off the swarming robots.
"Si, you didn't think I would just fade out? Alas, it's business and not pleasure, but still we can dance," Guerra cracked his knuckles. Robin looked to his team as Guerra charged with a joyous war cry, and to the path Midnight had taken.
He had no choice.
X X X
He finally caught up with her on a wide roof, back-dropped against a massive ad. A trio of X-arangs imbedded in her path and exploded, stopping her flight for him to finally come to grips with her.
"You're not going anywhere but jail, Midnight," Robin stated. She tilted her head, and he was certain she lifted an eyebrow under that mask.
"So I take it you are withdrawing that offer of an alliance?" she asked, too sincerely for his taste. Frowning, he pulled a staff from his belt and extended it.
"I don't make deals with criminals," Robin answered as they began to circle each other.
"Ah, and what do you call yourself after three heists, or should I say two and a half? And you seem to have conned your trusty comrades – that's just mean. I keep secrets, of course, but villains are supposed to not play nice," she observed, sounding a bit offended. Robin narrowed his eyes; he was tensed up for a fight, but Midnight was just walking around normally, her body language lacking any tension or anticipation.
She didn't see him as a threat!
He expected her to dodge when he struck. Instead, she brought up an arm and blocked the Bo with a metallic ring. He pressed the assault, with the same results, until he aimed low and swept her off her feet. She was heavy in that armor, he observed as he held the staff under her chin, prepared to ram it into her throat with all his force behind it.
"Checkmate," he told her. And it was; even with protection he knew he could tear through a robot with his staff and skill, he could accidentally kill her if she tried anything.
But that didn't make sense, this was nothing like he had seen on that wall or pulled from Star Labs' security.
His ears barely caught the sound of sliding metal and his eyes had only just recognized the shift in her chest before instinct compelled him to leap clear. Twin hails of bullets streamed through the space he had just occupied.
Hi opponent impossibly leapt up from her position and landed deftly, cracking the roof slightly under her weight. Smoke rose from the gun barrels as they slid back into their ports and were covered.
"Oh, Father would be so ashamed, baring my big guns to a strange boy in the middle of the night! Such a tart I am!" she laughed.
"A robot," Robin commented. The clues had been there, all power and none of the grace Midnight had displayed, and no powers at all.
"That's right, Midnight saw through your pathetic attempt at deception. Not only has your trap failed, but you have delivered her the very pieces needed to enable her masterstroke. Some Boy Wonder," it grinned at him.
"You won't be leaving, much less with those chips," Robin said, falling back into stance. The robot flexed its arms, prompting buzz saws to emerge along the forearms.
"I told her it was cliché, but it still feels good to actually use them," the robot told him, before propelling itself forward with a low leap. He shifted his footing and ducked under the left blade, before entering the air himself and passing over it, striking its back.
He landed awkwardly, stumbling, his staff lost to get the direction and power needed. Saws whirring, the robot turned to face him, showing off fake teeth in a grin.
"Was that some ninja move? I don't have pressure points or organs to agitate, idiot," it laughed. Robin said nothing, which seemed to worry it, before electric currents seized it. The X he had planted on it had brought down Cyborg, it should do some damage here.
The machine slumped but didn't fall as the shock wore off. With a creaking and sound of straining metal, it pulled its head up to face him. It was tougher than he thought; best finish it from a distance in case it had some suicide protocol.
Cold hands grabbed his wrists as a knee struck his back; next thing he knew he was face faulting into the roof.
"Well done Robin, you broke one of my toys. Isn't that just like a naughty little boy," Midnight cooed atop him. Robin growled and he she twisted his wrists ever so slightly.
"Easy now, you're at my mercy and your friends, or perhaps I should say teammates, are preoccupied.
"Hmm, even without powers there are so many ways to kill you from this position. After all that build up, I must say I'm disappointed – Bat Disciples are supposed to be so good that when you sneak up on them you're actually walking into a trap. But you are the runt of the litter, so I guess if anyone under performs it would be you.
"Though that was a good plan, maybe worthy of your great master, but even grand strategies fail in the hands of the unworthy. And as Ai said, for all your posing and declarations you are a boy. Let me guess, you stormed out of Batman's tutelage out of rebellion and the perceived lack of respect that seems to recur in lesser males?" Midnight taunted.
'Keep monologuing, give me all the time I need to get out of this,' Robin though as his legs shifted silently. Her free leg popped up and the steel boot struck the back of one of his knees, raising a pained grunt.
"Time, mistress," the robot spoke up.
"Well, seems it's time to go. You get a free pass tonight, since you helped me move my plans along, now it's just a matter of putting all the pieces together," Midnight declared. She leaned down briefly into his line of sight, her cloak covering both of them on the rooftop, until her mouth was next to his ear.
"Here's a tip though, for the flattery, empty as it was. You have a cuckoo in your nest, best get it out before it kills all the other little birds," she whispered, smiling. The weight left him and he rushed to his feet. He saw her helping the robot to the ledge like a wounded soldier lending a shoulder. He let an X-arang fly as he drew a back up staff, but they stepped off the ledge, leaving the projectile to cut through empty air.
Running to the ledge, he looked over it to find no sign of either criminal.
"Did we win?" Beast Boy asked. Robin turned to see Beast Boy walking up to him as the other Titans arrived on the roof. He saw that Starfire was carrying the Red X mask as she landed on the roof; he couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes.
"No," Robin sighed.
Titans Tower:
Robin leaned over the table in his evidence room; he should really have kept a chair in here. By unspoken agreement he had come here so the others could say their pieces with him. He was grateful they didn't seem to want a group confrontation, though he realized this could be worse. Tonight the Titans could very well end.
Beast Boy had been the first, not surprising. He was the most upfront of the Titans, often driving off impulse. That conversation had been surprisingly brief, as the changeling was angry but forgiving. Sadly, Robin thought it was in part because the Doom Patrol had made him accustomed to a measure of lies and secrets.
He was dreading Starfire the most. He was certain she would forgive him. But just now that forgiveness seemed worse than punishment. He had never asked for her to be anything more to him than a teammate. Being who he was, and what he aspired to be, it wasn't in the cards for him to be what she deserved.
The cards… as if it was fate to blame. He knew it was his own choices that led to this; a mistake, but it had been his to make.
The door opened and he tensed visibly. Some of it left as the heavy footfalls announced Cyborg's arrival.
"Robin," Cyborg greeted plainly.
"Cyborg, you want an explanation?" Robin asked.
"Not really, I think it's pretty plain. Damn it, I'm the one who should be getting stupid over this. You're supposed to be the steady, solid, badass Batman knockoff," Cyborg grumbled.
"Where do you think I got the obsessive behavior from?" Robin queried, smiling a bit despite the atmosphere.
"I get tricking her, Trojan horse deal. But you lied to us, beat us," Cyborg stated.
"It had to be genuine; if you had known, you wouldn't have gone all out. She would have seen through it, even though she did anyway."
"You knew exactly how to take us down; that wasn't something you slapped together was it?
"You hear rumors, that Batman always carries kryptonite, just in case. That he has plans to take down every known hero, even his League buddies. I never thought you'd do the same to us. Even Star, man?" Cyborg demanded.
Robin had no answer.
"By the way, here's your mug, you left it in your secret room," Cyborg commented, placing a plain white coffee mug on the evidence table. Robin looked at it, stunned, before turning to Cyborg. The Titan's face was tight with anger.
"Funny thing – after the whole horror monster, I went to upgrade our systems, got some tips from the Watchtower on how to beef it up against creepy magic stuff. Well, I found a little hole in the system in the doing, and it just got bigger as I looked. A secret room, with files on all of us, records of everything we do, and your little off the books workshop.
"Oh yeah, and a secondary surveillance system."
"Cyborg…"
"Where the hell do you get off?" Cyborg growled. That set Robin back a step; when no more words came Robin decided it was time to level with his friend.
"Someone has to watch, and that includes watching the watchmen. The Joker riots broke out while Oracle was taking a break the rest of us all but demanded. All those times nothing happened, and Oracle looked away and the situation was out of control, I don't need to tell you how many died.
"You only need to make one mistake, trust one wrong person. The League trusted Hawkgirl, and they had every reason to, but that trust nearly destroyed the world.
"I don't ask for you to forgive me, I can't fault your anger. A betrayal of trust safeguards against betrayal, I know it makes me a hypocrite," Robin confessed. Cyborg looked him up and down, his face lined with anger, perhaps reexamining someone he thought he knew.
"I've thought about you like a bro Robin, like BB as the annoying little brother. Star as the sweet sis who I'll kick ass for, no questions asked. Hell, even Jinx is like the annoying sister who exists to cause me grief.
"But that's not it for you, eh? All of it's just levels of threats, with odds on how much of a danger we are, and strategies how to deal with what happens.
"And you really do think of us as friends, don't you! Even if you were sure we are on your side, you still feel the need to… shit, I wouldn't want to live in your world man," Cyborg sighed. The anger had run its course, not gone, but he seemed to have said what he had come for.
"The others?" Robin asked hesitantly.
"I should tell them, but I haven't. They all need this, the Titans. And on the heels of the Red X crap this might kill the Titans. I'll keep quiet, for their sakes, not yours.
"But you're on notice. Someone has to watch the watchmen? Well, consider yourself watched – if I ever think you are a threat to them I will shut you down, even if it means the end of the Titans," Cyborg explained, stone faced. He turned to go, the door opening again. He paused in the doorway, but didn't look back.
"Get your shit together man, for all our sakes," Cyborg whispered audibly. He stepped through the doorway and it closed behind him. Robin looked after him in the dark of the evidence room.
Somewhere Beneath Jump City:
Raven stood in the motor pool, having already changed into her mechanic's jumpsuit as she carried a box laden with parts. She walked up to where Ai was propped up on a pair of steel saw horses, her back panels removed, revealing the damaged circuitry. Setting down her box and puling a multi-tool from her tool belt, Raven went to work on the robot.
"You're lucky you're part magic, that x would have burned out a normal drone. And yet Cyborg was up and running on his own devices in hours; I guess his tech really is a cut above the rest," Raven remarked.
"So, who is the *creeeeeeee*," Ai began before her voice gave way to a tone. Raven set the damaged component aside and swiftly replaced it with a fresh specimen and reconnected the wires.
"You were saying?" Raven asked.
"Which Titan is a traitor?" Ai demanded with a bit of heat. Raven ceased her working in the robot's innards to frown at the back of its head.
"There is no traitor," Raven finally admitted.
"What?" Ai asked, trying to rotate her head but failing as the mechanism jammed halfway. Raven rolled her eyes and grabbed the head, twisting it the full 180 so they were face to face.
"Well, no traitor that I know of, at any rate. It's all part of the plan… well, Red X wasn't, but like I said it does move things along nicely.
"I planted a seed in soil that is so fertile it's practically fresh from the cow. Robin's suspicions will poison any chances at healing from tonight's fiasco, making the Titans far more vulnerable," Raven explained.
"Won't he guess you would lie for that very reason?" Ai persisted.
"Yes, he probably has already realized, because he would do something similar. Heroes exploit the divide and conquer rule better than villains, given the chance. It's classic powerful alliance of villains you can't beat, so you play to their vices, causing them to turn on one another," Raven answered. She pulled out a small automatic, and after a moment's inspection tossed it into the scrap pile.
"The beauty, though, is Robin can't help how he is. He will guess my plan but having guessed it he will assume I knew he would knew and am thereby covering the tracks of an infiltrator by hinting at their existence.
"Two possible outcomes – Robin exhausts himself chasing shadows in his own tower, making my job easier and him vulnerable. Or, he gets caught in his investigation and the Titans might self destruct there and then," Raven concluded.
"Or number three, he finds an actual spy and you helped him," Ai added. Raven jerked Ai's head back to a forward facing position with a motion practiced to be fatal.
"What are the chances of that?" Raven dismissed the notion before grabbing a socket wrench.
Titans Tower:
There are worse ways to start a conversation than a slap that is carrying most of a person's weight behind it. Particularly since Jinx was a lightweight, which Robin knew for a fact.
The insults that followed as she stomped around the evidence room would be standard fare. Maybe a few more slaps and rude statements regarding his ancestry, and then she would demand some petty concessions before storming out to blow something up.
Except she wasn't storming around; having slapped him she had soundly deviated from his projections and stood there glaring at him.
"You piece of shit," she hissed. She took a step toward him and he was shocked to find himself backing into his table.
"You don't trust me, I get that. I won't play your game and bear all and for that I get labeled as dangerous. Fair enough I figured, irritating, but I get where you're coming from. Even though you keep secrets, keep your mask while trying to figure out my secrets.
"You're the real deal, so I put up with it however angry it might make me at times. But you're not – you are nothing but a hypocrite!
"You used us, all of us, even Starfire! You knew our weaknesses and used them against us!" Jinx screamed, getting in his face. She grew quiet, breathing deep; Robin saw himself reflected in her shades.
"Nothing to say? Aren't you going to tell me to suck it up or something? Or try and justify what you did? You blinded me, even if it was less than an hour. Transplants and prosthetics don't work on me, so you guessed that's what I was afraid of and not just a weakness," Jinx pressed on. Robin straightened up and she took a step back.
"I can't deny anything you've said, it's true. I could give the same excuses I gave to Cyborg, but I think you know what they would be already.
"So what now?" Robin asked. Behind their respective concealment they locked eyes. Jinx looked away first.
"I don't think I can do this Robin. I don't trust you with my past, and you don't trust me period, it seems. How does this work?" Jinx sighed.
"It's not that I don't trust you at all," Robin stated. Jinx frowned at that, and this time Robin had trouble meeting her eye.
"So I'm just the one you trust least? That's weak and you know it.
"I get that the League would maybe close the Titans down, so I won't harp on Red X," Jinx told him as she turned to go.
"Wait," the word was little more than a whisper but some force in it stopped her in her tracks. She turned slowly to see Robin kneel in the farther corner. Whether by circumstance or design she couldn't see quite what he was doing as something happened to the wall.
'A secret panel,' Jinx realized. Though she raised an eyebrow when he stood up with a metal suitcase that looked too big for the space he had covered.
He gestured her to the table as he sat the case down. It was average size she supposed, more of a briefcase, and emblazoned with Robin's symbol. A cursory glance indicated it was very secure.
"You wonder why I'm like this? And you're right about trust; it's not something I can do easily. I'll see you as possibly guilty until proven innocent, even though I know that's a backward way of doing things. I don't know that I can change, Jinx, even for the team. But I can give an answer," Robin told her. As he spoke he pressed spots on the case, revealing panels and scanners and passing each challenge before the case finally popped slightly.
His hand rested on the case, a final reflex to close it again perhaps? Instead he lightly rotated it enough to face Jinx, and retracted the gloved hand. Jinx found herself swallowing; this encounter was out of her hands. Part of her wanted to turn around and leave, let Robin keep his secret – did she really want to know what he had gone to such lengths to keep at hand but out of reach?
Yes, shamed as she was to admit it. Sliding her fingernails into the gap she eased it up and open. Looking at the contents she stood stock still for a moment, before reaching up and pushing her shades onto her brow.
"I don't understand," Jinx admitted. Robin reached over and picked it up; as he looked at it, free hand touching the dark frame, she was grateful for his mask. She didn't want to see something human in his eyes.
"My motivation, it drove me from Gotham and I brought it with me.
"Things can change quickly, as I'm sure you know too well. My growing pain came out of the blue, the harsh lesson that even with superheroes there can't always be a happy ending.
"I failed her Jinx, she needed a hero and I failed. I was all she had; she never had the chance for more. She never knew anyone else, was able to be with someone else. She was so afraid, even though she wasn't sure what she feared till it was almost too late.
"She deserved to live, to have a life. If I had been smarter, put the clues together sooner, it would have been different. If I had been stronger, faster, better, she would not have had to come back for me. A hero lays down their lives to protect the innocent, its not supposed to be the other way around.
"I couldn't even give her justice; Batman kept me from revenge and the courts…
"There were no papers, no forms, not even a photo. A sketch artist made this picture from my description. Clayface got away with murder because I couldn't prove Annie even existed, much less that she was more than an unattached limb.
"I can't forgive what happened that night. Not Clayface, and not myself. I will be good enough, because someone has to be. Someone has to be ready to save them from monsters, even if it means becoming one," Robin spoke softly.
He heard Jinx leave, no further words between them. Whatever she decided, he had done what he needed to do.
Robin didn't know if he was afraid or relieved to have told someone, but it was done. Soon Starfire would be here, but for now he was alone in the shadows, surrounded by headlines and with a memory held in his hands.
Two Weeks later:
Midnight stood in front of the imposing cylindrical device, the warehouse illuminated by the system her robots had installed. She didn't give the detonator a glance, swirling the red liquid inside the glass she held in her hand. Her attention fell to the others in the room as she upended the wine bottle in her other hand. The last of the liquid poured out into the bowl Razor held out from her spot kneeling on the floor before her owner.
When the bottle was emptied, Midnight tossed it over her head and raised her glass at the sound of it breaking.
"I hope you'll excuse the formality, but with this operation coming to a head I felt a little ceremony and appreciation was in order," Midnight announced. Guerra and Ai stood before her, the android holding her glass in mirror imitation of her master, while Guerra – in an impressive and absurd fashion – held the normal sized glass with ease in his large hand.
"Within the hour their fate will be in the palm of my hand, and I intend to wring until dry. To Operation Blackfire!" Midnight proclaimed. They drank deeply of the wine, Midnight draining her glass in a single gulp, and crushing it in her grip.
Author's Note:
Well another one down. This chapter went fairly smooth for my stuff. The only hitch really was the post-unmasking conversations. Sort of a deleted scene, since I felt adding it would break the pacing. If you're the sort to be curious on that sort of stuff, it will likely show up later in a different context and tweaked for said context change.
Well, I am thrilled bout the next chapter. "Blackfire" has been in the works and discussed between me, Zim, and the elusive Nocturne since before I started posting this story. There have been revisions and additions to be sure, and now it's finally going to be written beyond a few excerpts.
It's the big one, and it's finally at hand.
Sure, there's the finale for the next arc, and the overall story climax ahead, but this is a real milestone. It's both intimidating and stimulating.
After that we'll have an interlude to tidy things up before this story goes into off-season to get Queen, Hachin, and other stories moving again.
Oh and I may be posting a challenge on my profile soon, not for any of the fandoms I write for, its just an idea that is bugging me lately.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will enjoy what I have in store. Long days and pleasant nights to you all.