A/N: Ninety-three reviews! Ha ha ha, undeserved. With just five chapters to go, lets hope Simcity4 doesn't distract me too much. I just reformatted my old computer after four-months of virus fighting, so now I had to re-install everything again.. including my favorite PC game.. It calls to me, fighting The Watchman for my attention. What kept me writing this chapter? ... oh, just a little something that brightened up my day.

The Watchman

---

"I didn't want to believe my eyes. I honestly didn't want to believe that he'd do something so crazy, so insane... all just to get back at me. What drives someone so crazy they'd be willing to kill over a million people just because I want to protect humanity from his kind? All I knew at that moment, watching the television screen, was that whatever lurked inside that man's heart wasn't natural.. it was down-right demonic."

Four days later, Garfield Logan finds himself sitting on the couch, crouched forward with his hands holding his chin, propped on his knees. Eyes boring at the sight of the television screen, nothing can pull his gaze away. Not even the woman with the dark cloak next to him can pull him out of this haze... She's too deep in her own to escape as well.

"... consider my words a bluff and I'll deploy Terra early. You people of Jump City have had it too easy as far as I'm concerned."

The sinister voice of Ripper, blade spinning around in his hand as he speaks into the monitor, fills every space of Gar's room with the icy chill of death. That feeling may not be too undeserved as the woman behind Ripper knows the feeling all too well. With Terra standing behind her, an ever-present reminder of death, the normally chipper, happy anchorwoman now stares at the ceiling, dead. Her throat slashed from the bloody knife in Ripper's bony fingers. It had only been a few minutes ago that the woman was being dragged onto the camera, screaming for mercy as Ripper demanded they go live for the morning broadcast. Apparently he had something in store for the citizens of Jump City and he wasn't going to whisper it like the last few attempts had been. No, Ripper was making his declaration to the world. A fool one would be to turn a deaf ear to this statement.

"My goddess is ready to deliver on to Jump City a catastrophe that even God himself declared never to do again! Should the Titans and Watchman's rogues refuse to surrender, Terra will unleash a magnitude twelve earthquake below the city itself. No building will be spared from such a tremor, not even the vaunted Titans Tower!" Snickering, the teeth chatter with each slam in the sickening cackle. "However, before they decide to humiliate themselves by attacking me again, I have a surprise for this city!"

Desade appears from the side, grabbing the cameraman forcibly and throwing him over to the window. Forcing the image to view out towards the harbor, Ripper's voice howls into the audio speaker behind them.

"Terra! Show them why the Scorpio is one of the three water signs of the Zodiac!"

Almost on command, a large rumble echoes through the building, sending quakes ruffling through the structure, visibly shaking the camera as well as buildings heading towards the harbor. As if a giant creature was burrowing under the city, it finally ends at the water itself...

First the tail appears, towering out of the water as tall as a ten-story apartment. Its black stinger drips with cold Pacific water, thrashing about and throwing spray in all directions. As it approaches the city, parts of the scorpion's claws appear above the waterline, snapping and flailing about like a monster in a horrible B-rated movie. They splash hard against the water like a newborn in a pool, excited by the sight... Scaly and horrifying, the beast finally rears up out of the water. Its mouth snaps open and shut, eyes blazing wildly in a rage at being summoned. Despite the skin-like appearance, the sandy texture of its body gives rise to the reality of its creation, and of its creator. Terra, once only strong enough to construct simple beings of rock, now has the abilities it would seem to create an organism the length of half a football field and as tall as an urban hotel. Smashing into the waterfront area, it easily topples over cars and small, abandoned houses in its path. Legs wriggling on the ground, it stomps tentatively on innocent bystanders, adding to the carnage that is surely to come.

The camera is violently pulled back towards Ripper's face, his red eyes burning with delight with a smile to match.

"Watchman, come if you dare! Refuse and Jump City will be torn apart! Try to be a hero and you'll end up like this worthless insect!"

Punctuating his words, Ripper's image in the camera remains heartless as he drives his cane into the man's chest, throwing up gurgling sounds and blood across the lens finder. The broadcast continues even as Desade throws the man out of the window, video following the fall all the way to the ground before the feed cuts off from the eventual impact on the asphalt.

---

"You're really going to fight that thing?" Raven asks, watching Gar slip into his kevlar suit. "Even we're going to have trouble killing that thing and you know it!" she warns him, not happy at the lack of an answer.

"You'll have support. Air Force will recognize the creature and deploy fighters." Gar dryly answers, tightening the grip of the suit to his body. It won't stop scorpion pincers but if you're gonna die.. "Why aren't you there yet?"

"Because I know you're not as stupid as you pretend to be sometimes! You're going after Ripper alone, aren't you?'

"Yes."

"Gar, that's insane and you know it. Even if we take down that thing, we'll be too spent to come get you." He's being a bigger idiot than usual.. Is it because she's involved?

"Robin will order all Titans to converge on Jump just like he promised. If I can't kill Ripper, I'll give all of you the best head start I can." Boots sliding into place, tight but not too firm either.

"Listen to yourself! You don't need to do this alone! Let me go with you!"

"No, I can't. The risk..."

"What? The risk is too much to risk my safety? I'm not some weak bitch, Gar!"

One arm into the coat followed by another. In a past life, it might've been replaced with chain mail and metal platting.. Amazing what the 21st century can produce. "The Titans need you, Raven. This city needs you more than you need to protect me. Lets do our jobs and hope we fly with birds tonight instead of with the angels."

Stomping towards him, Raven hisses "You're the last person to lecture me about angels and devils, Watchman! I don't care if I have to drag you kicking and screaming to that fight, you're not going to fight Ripper by yourself!"

Coat finally buttoned up, collar flapped up to maintain some form of barrier against the world, Gar turns towards the admittedly scary-looking Raven.... Though not beautiful enough for him to smile ironically.

"You're the last to lecture me about sacrifice for the good of the world. You protected us from Trigon now its my turn to repay the favor against Ripper."

Looking up admittedly, Raven none-the-less levels a harsh glare into his own eyes. A smile vs a frown, the immovable vs. the unstoppable.. Love is truly hell.

"Gar, I'm not letting you fight him alone! You've kept me at an arm's reach this whole year, you've been acting like I used to! Damn it, Gar, don't push me away when we need each other the most!"

Eyes looking away, he has to admit she has a point. All of that time spent trying to garner her attention finally bore fruit... Finally he had what he sought for so long. Now he continues to push it away. How strange that the tables have turned? How full of fear those violet eyes look.. no matter how angry she tries to appear at him. That look alone returns the smile to his face, albeit it sad instead of ironic. Bringing her to an embrace, arms wrapping around her slender frame, he holds tight for what could be the last time. Anger fading, or so he assumes, he feels the gesture returned.

"Gar, don't do this." The woman's voice is shaky, frightened almost.

"Rae, its the only choice we have." The man's voice is laconic, cool and filled with a mild attempt at confidence. If even a psychic doesn't know the future then how should he know how this will end?

As they separate, Gar starts to walk for the doorway. Her arguments fading, she can only watch painfully as he drifts towards the doorway. Is this how it ends? Would he be so cold just to..

"But I'll promise you this." Stopped now, Gar perks up, looking back at her with an honest smile. "If we both survive today... I won't fight alone ever again."

"What do you mean?"

"How about after this mission's done and Ripper's dead, you join me?"

Taken back, her sorrowful look switches to one of confusion and a tinge of surprise. "What? You want me to leave the Titans?"

"Who watches the watchmen, right? Apparently someone's got to watch the Watchman too. Two birds, one stone. That and we're a little too old to keep being Teen Titans, right?"

---

"Raven, I don't know where the hell you are, but you better get your ass down here quick.." Cyborg growls into a communicator, firing a few futile rounds of Sonic blasts at the towering behemoth that is this scorpion. Thankfully, unlike the desert version, this beast is not equipped with weapons. However, its large stinger and claws easily tear down onto any vehicle or helicopter daring enough to get close. Screeching, a sound not usually heard from the namesake insect, it's howl echoes across the buildings, filling the air with a larger sense of dread. Windows break with each step, their glass shards glinting in the morning sun as they fall like raindrops onto the unforgiving street floor. A fire rages out of control, unable to be contained by firefighters, its flames fueled by the oil bursting forth from the tanker that once transported it. Combined with the smoldering husks of other vehicles, it contributes a thick, oily smell across the avenue.

Speak of the devil though as a black bird of psychic essence appears from behind the group, its two "passengers" spreading out immediately as a claw drops on their position.

"Bout time you got here, girl!" Cy yells out though more frustrated at the creature than the goth. "We could use your help over here!"

"I thought Cinco de Mayo was supposed to be a fun holiday?' Gar cracks as he leaps off a car, flipping over a crater, and landing next to his metallic friend.

"You and me both. It seems Ripper's sense of humor's worse than your's." Blasting a flying car out of the way, Cy adds in "That's saying something by the way."

"How long can you hold?" Gar asks, instinctively reaching for his earpiece.

"How long? Shit, we don't have a choice on how long. We don't leave until this thing does!" a few more shots merely bring its attention.. Several more officers are crushed, however, by one of the legs stomping on the patrol car arriving from its side.

"Alright because you're going to help me then!" Gar announces. "I've just gotten through with the Watchtower. They've alerted the California National Guard. Apparently the news broadcast made it around the state faster than Kid Flash would. They're sending air support but they need a guide on the ground to keep from hitting friendlies."

"Why don't you do it? You've done it before against these kind of things!" Cyborg yells back over the sound of gunfire from the officers arriving further.

"Because I have a date with a maniac! Don't bother talking me out of it, not even Raven could!"

"That's saying something too!" Cyborg admits, wincing as Starfire takes a shot from a pincer but recovers in time to avoid hitting a concrete side of a building. "I don't know where he is!"

"Knowing him he's somewhere high up. The sooner I kill him and stop Terra, the sooner this thing dies." Something in his voice waivers when the name falls on the subject on Terra. This doesn't go unnoticed by Cyborg but allows it to pass.

"Alright man. You got a link for me to work with then?"

Giving him the details, Gar tears off towards the hulking beast. Without even so much as a "goodbye" or a "good luck", Gar throws his chances to the wind.

"Man, I'm gettin' too old for this shit." the metallic man mutters to himself as he watches his good friend disappear into the chaos.

The scorpion continues to lumber behind Gar now, fighting off the Titans by the waterfront. It seems the creature, as massive as it is, is only running as a distraction to keep the Titans at bay. Smart strategy but that means the more dangerous threats lie ahead...

---

Panic reigns supreme on the streets of Jump City as citizens attempt to flee the destruction wrought by Ripper's plans. People flood the avenues, escaping the threat they assume to be heading their way. In fact, the Titans themselves seem to be holding their own as the creature does seem to be reeling inward towards the city... The problem is by entering the city, it in fact exposes the innocent peoples of the Jump to the potential of being caught in the crossfire. However, their backs to the sea, the Titans seem to have no other choice than to press inward.

Vendors abandon their food carts, shop keepers flood out of their stores, heading for the hills as the buildings rattle and shake under the Scorpion's massive weight. Car alarms blare for blocks with each tremor, their multi-ton bodies quaking like toys with each successive step. To Gar's surprise, a bus comes flying through the air over his head, crashing into the third-story of an office building, eventually falling down onto a hydrant, blasting its water skyward. The scorpion has a good arm it seems or maybe Starfire's control has finally given way? Whatever result, it doesn't bode well for the city or its residents, that much is certain.

---

Less than two blocks away from the Jump City News Center, a towering building with a massive array of digital and satellite receptors, Gar halts his advance by the sight of an oddity in the crowd. As people flock away from the sea, one man stands in the middle of the route leading to the final battle with Ripper. Licking his lips, chains spinning around with malicious intent, and scars now adorning his face, Desade beckons on his foe for a fight.

"Not you again.." Gar moans, seeing the sadist's look of anticipation on those wrinkled, horrid features.

"I owe you for the other night, Watchman! Your date with Ripper won't happen this time or any other time. You don't have Slade or his friends to save you now!"

As if Gar ever really needed them to help. What they do is their own business... for now. "I don't have time to play with you, freak. Move or I'll rip your chains out of your body."

"Bold words for a dead child!" Desade screams, thrashing a spiked-link at Gar's direction.

Narrowly avoiding the barbed whip, Watchman finds himself ducking another thrust, this time screaming at his legs. Sparking along the ground, they miss their intended body parts, wrapping around Desade instead. With a disgusted scowl, Gar watches as the cutting, piercing barbs only elicit a sigh of joy from Desade's mouth.

"Yeah, I REALLY hate sadists."

"Then how about we see if you've learned from the other night? Enjoy another chain cocoon on the house!" Jumping into the air, Desade throws the spiked link towards the pavement, hoping to bring about another web of link and steel.

Gar, however, will have none of it. Diving forward, he grabs the chain in mid-drop and throws it back at Desade. Panicked, the sadist screams as the chain bursts into thousands of little links, each screaming towards his body as he falls towards them. Fear turns to confidence however as he simply rips the chain from his arm, twisting in free fall and avoiding the deathblow. Spinning as he falls, he lands on the ground in a picture-esque pose similar to how an acrobat would land. Snickering, he flips backwards onto the top of a car and produces a new set of chain links.

"You just won't fucking die, will you?!" Gar shouts at the admittedly talented madman.

"Since you already know my one attack, how about I show you another that you just might enjoy some more! I know I will!" Desade hisses, starting to move his arms in a variety of punching and spinning motions, fading into a blur as he does. They spin about his body, starting to appear like an old cartoon character's legs just before he took off running...

"Say goodbye, Watchman! Try dodging a hundred chain links at once!!" he roars, finally "punching" the chains forward as Gar with blinding speed.

Sniffing the air before they strike him, however, Gar instead of worry, he chooses to laugh with an ironic cool. "Told her to let me go alone.."

"AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"a voice yells over the crowd, gripping the chains and breaking them apart just before they strike Garfield head on.

"What is this bullshit?!" Desade yells in rage as Raven lands next to Gar, eyes glowing white and cloak sporting a few scratches.

"I told you to help the Titans." Gar remarks, not taking his eyes off an increasingly furious Desade.

"And I told you back at your hideout you didn't have to wait for me to join you." she counters, not looking away from Desade either.

"ENOUGH!" Desade screams, flipping his arms around as the chains grow longer and longer. "I'm going to crush both of you under my chains once and for all! Not even your psychic powers can stop me this time, witch!" Eyes dilating, pulling all the power he can into his metal extensions, Desade hurls the chains in a flurry of both large and miniature strands of metal and sharpened steel.

As Raven puts her hands forward to form a psychic barrier, Gar stops her with a grasp on her shoulder.

"What are you?"

"Don't. Watch what happens." Gar informs her, a smile now broadly plastered on his green face.

Ten feet, seven feet, four feet... one foot.. STOP! The chains stop just shy of their faces, holding in mid-air just as Desade's face appears stuck in mid-pose. Around his neck appears a glowing, thin-roped strand of energy from behind the sadist. Behind his shoulder, an old enemy has returned once more.

"Keeping your eyes in one place all the time isn't a very bright idea, asshole." The pitched bass and slick humor of Dr. Light rings across the area like a megaphone, bringing Raven and Desade into a bewildered state.

"I told him to follow you if he wanted to find me." Gar informs his teammate, walking towards Dr. Light and Desade with a wide grin. Seeing the Doctor with a sun tan and a bleach white suit, head to toe, brings a sense of joy to his heart. "Glad to see you're working on your humor, Doc. Lookin' sharp!"

Wrapping Desade up with another strand of energy, Dr. Light replies simply "The women love a man with brains and a glow about them."

Raven shakes her head, sick of the puns already. Gar, however, laughs it off before turning his rage back at Desade.

"Now, sadist, you're going to tell me where Ripper and Terra want to be found at. I don't have a lot of time so I suggest you tell me before the good doctor here goes Magneto and rips all the metal right out of your body!"

Desade, already in a bind, finds himself at the mercy of the three. Sighing in defeat, the energy burning into his neck, he is forced to reveal the information...

---

Confirmed correct that Ripper would be hiding in the news building, Gar finds himself staring at the very bowels of the devil itself. He just never imagined he'd have the woman of his dreams on one side and a pun-quipping, suit-wearing doctor on the other...

---

A/N2: Aha! What a brilliant surprise, huh? Yeah, so I'm punning the shit out of you, sue me! Then I won't finish the story and you'll be FUCKED, won't you!? HA!
Seriously though, if I ever do get to write a sequel involving Gar/Light/Raven/Huntress/Q as a team, this would be a good launching point... But I don't plan on it... but then again, I claimed there wouldn't be BB/Rae either... CRAP!

Trivia:
- The Scorpion's attack (as will be seen again later on) is inspired by the Cloverfield attack though this thing IS destructable... But that's not the fun part yet.
- "I'm gettin too old for this shit" by Cyborg is an omage to Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon. One of the best lines ever.
- I just realized, Ripper's newcasts was very Joker-like from the Dark Knight, only I didn't plan it that way (or think about it that way)... Stupid Heath Ledger and his amazing acting ability that only heaven gets to reap the rewards from!
- The Magneto comment refers to the issue where Magneto ripped the metal skeleton right out of Wolverine's body. Nasty enough to stop Wolvie from healing AND enough to piss off Xavier. Again, Gar's a comic fan... Tru-Damon will probably laugh at me for trying to appease him with another comic reference... GO SERVE MY BAR ANOTHER WHISKY, DAMMIT!