Titans: X marred in Red.
Chapter 01: an unlikely source.
It's been roughly 2 years since the Titan's last adventure and the team went on to having more adventures, particularly Night-wing and Starfire as they also made sure M'ari could grow up as normal as possible, meaning on the week days she'd spend time with Alfred Pennyworth , Barbara Gordon and even Bruce Wayne on occasion while in the safe-house as on the weekends were marked as time with her parents, incidentally it was a calm Saturday afternoon as Night-wing returned to Titans tower after a routine patrol as little M'ari rushed her dad as she tackled him mid flight.
" why hello there little miss, say have you seen my daughter?, she's about your height, share a lovely black hair like you do, piercing green eyes and an adorable smile…"
At that M'ari only giggled as she tried to imitate her mother's famous bone crushing hug as she giggled in excitement as Night-wing, while not being crushed to death still felt pressure on his waist.
" wow…. you're getting strong…. you keep doing exercises like I asked you?"
At that little M'ari gave him the best puppy dog eyes she could muster as Night-wing gave a knowing grin.
" tell you what, dad has to work a bit right now so you continue practicing your running and by bed time I'll tell you a story, sounds nice?"
At that M'ari started jumping from joy and excitement almost flying as Night-wing gave her a knowing look.
"Nightstar!?….."
At that M'ari started to float back down as she began running around the tower like a normal 3 year old as Starfire entered the living room.
" have you seen my husband?"
At that Night-wing grinned.
" why no…. but if I do see him I'll make sure to escape through the window…"
At that Starfire gave him a small push on his chest for his offbeat joke as she asked.
"how was patrol?, anything new to report?"
At that Night-wing sighed as he answered.
" actually no…. nothing to report…. it's completely silent out there….."
At that Starfire picked up on a small cue Night-wing gave as she stated.
" and that bothers you a bit….. does it?"
At that Night-wing corrected.
" it feels strange to me you know… I am efficient, but is there a thing as too efficient?"
At this point Starfire got a mischievous thought through her mind which translated into a seductive look as Night-wing picked up on it immediately.
" sorry…. I got a few things to accomplish around the tower since the married couple are on their second 'honeymoon' plus I'm telling our bundle of joy a story tonight….."
At that Starfire sighed in relief.
" good…. last time I told her a story she wouldn't sto asking questions upon questions….."
At that Night-wing joked as he left towards ops room.
" I wonder who she got that from….."
As Night-wing entered ops room he was met with Cyborg monitoring the entire city and security system through the monitors.
" how much have you heard?"
At that the cybernetic hero simply answered.
" enough."
At that Night-wing gave a nod as both of them started working as a few minutes later he asked.
" know any good bedtime stories?"
At that Cyborg gave a big laugh.
" unless you want references as extensive as the yellow pages you'll have to be more specific"
At that Night-wing was not amused as he replied.
" oh gee I don't know, stories that won't scar a three year old for life, how's that for specific?….."
At that Cyborg calmed down as he continued the conversation.
" well you could always go with the classics."
At this Night-wing answered as follows.
" trust me, the classics gave me nightmares….. what would your dad do?"
At this Cyborg grew a warm smile on his face.
"well my dad would tell me about his day at the office….. and he fell asleep every time right in the middle of it."
At this both started to snicker as they continued working as Night-wing took some of it to heart as the time went by quick as it became close to M'ari's bedtime. As Night-wing left the ops room he headed to Starfire's bedroom where he saw little m'ari snuggling with her mother in bed.
" let me guess?… you were too excited to fall a sleep all alone?"
At this M'ari gave a small nod as Starfire tried to leave the bed as Night-wing stated.
"that's okay, you can stay….. plus I wouldn't mind backup on this…"
At that Starfire gave a nod as she snuggled with M'ari as Night-wing sat to Mari's right on the bed.
" well little lady, today I'll tell you a story about myself…. a nice memory I have about grandpa Bruce."
At hearing this M'ari got excited as Starfire got a tad worried as Night-wing mouthed quietly.
'trust me…..'
With that said and done Starfire allowed Night-wing to continue.
" well this story starts back in Gotham when I was about 10 years old…."
Gotham city, 12 years ago, on a rainy week day at about early to mid noon, a 10 year old Richard Dick Grayson and one Bruce Wayne were sitting on the elevated train station as the two decided prior to spend a relaxing day off, and by decided it meant Bruce insisted that Dick would keep him company and said kid had no real chance at refusing him politely. As both sat in awkward silence Bruce mauled over on to how to break the ice as in the end he decided to go on the not so subtle approach.
" you look angry."
At that Richard sighed.
" I am angry…. at myself…."
At that Bruce reacted with mild surprise.
"care to share with the rest of us?"
At this Richard hesitated.
" I don't know…. I'm trying to keep my anger out of control…. plus I don't want to ruin your day with my ranting."
At this Bruce gave a somber smile as he replied.
" tried to do that with Alfred myself when I was at your age…. it didn't work too good…. the anger turned to sadness that came pouring right on out."
At this moment Richard looked surprised as he decided that maybe letting it out in the open was not such a bad idea.
" I….. I'm not good enough…. I keep failing at tracking the guy who killed my parents, even after all the help from our mutual friend… even worse I'm also scared that I'm starting to forget them."
At this Bruce reached out to Richard telling him.
" anger is not a bad emotion to have… the key is to know when to let it out and how much of it…"
At that Richard felt reassured, funny enough as he relaxed a bit while asking.
"why the train anyway?"
At this Bruce smiled softly.
' lots of reasons."
At this point Richard asked.
" you're not gonna tell me are you?"
At this Bruce looked at him with a wry smile.
" all in due time… for now let's try and relax a bit before the train arrives."
At this Richard made a mental note.
' so he's testing me… got it…'
At this Richard looked around the station as most of the pedestrians about to board the train were the members of the affluent part of society, he did notice some that were more likely to be blue collar folks as a small smile appeared on his face as he started to remember back to his days at Hailey's circus.
" feeling a little better?"
At this Richard answered.
" I guess…"
As the minutes went by the train was about to enter the station asa group of people arrived just inthe nick of time to board the train, as Richard gave a once look over them he got a weird feeling as Bruce picked on that.
" something wrong?"
At this point Richard was snapped out of his trance answering.
" not sure….. could be nothing….."
At this Bruce gave him a nod.
" whatever it is I'm right here okay?"
At that Richard nodded at him saying he understood. As Bruce and Richard boarded the train heading towards the outskirts of the city towards Metropolis Richard again noticed the late arrivals noting that one of them was a pudgy seventeen year old, really nervous, almost sweating from his palms and forehead as opposed to the other two who acted as cool as can be, though now that he took a good look at them he spotted something else strange, their hands were twitching and they never once took of their brown leather raincoats.
" take a picture kid it will last longer."
At this point Richard gave a dumb smile as he apologized to one of the men who had a very large nose, almost like a toucans beak.
"oops….. sorry, bored out of my mind."
Thankfully the group didn't engage further as they moved passed them to another car behind them as Richard whispered.
" tell me I didn't notice what I think I just noticed…"
At this Bruce calmly answered.
"for now let's keep our heads and let things play out as they will."
At that Richard wanted to object as Bruce continued.
" yes, letting a bunch of criminals take the train hostage won't end well, however jumping the gun without a plan will only make things worse."
At this Richard agreed reluctantly as he said.
" okay but I don't have to like it…"
As the conversation ended the train ride continued uninterrupted for about an hour until the same suspicious guys came back to the car when the pudgy neurotic sat on the bench across from Bruce and Richard.
" what's your name son?"
The pudgy kid almost jumped out of his skin as he tried answering with a clear stutter.
" w… who me?!… I'm a nobody….. why… who are you…. anyway?"
At this Bruce answered nonchalantly.
" you don't get out much do you?"
At that the pudgy kid got spooked a little as he said.
" just my luck…. you're a cop ain't you….."
At this Bruce defused the situation as he responded.
" son… do I look like a cop to you?!"
At this the kid took a closer look at him as he said.
" it's….. not son….. it's Sidney…. Sid for short."
At this Bruce gave him a warm smile as he said.
" well Sid you can call me Bruce….. now what are your pals up to Sid?"
At this Sid got really nervous as he answered as follows.
" first their not my friends really….. I just happened to owe them a favor….. second don't go asking too many questions or we'll both end up dead."
At this Bruce made a gesture to calm him down saying.
"trust me they won't I'm worth more alive to you then dead…. in fact if you take me as a hostage I'll tell them it was your idea…."
At this point a loud gunshot was fired in one of the cars as Sid squirmed as he almost panicked as he said shakily.
" at this point….. I've got no choice….."
With this Bruce turned towards his ward uttering soundlessly ' I'll be okay…. just wait for me' as him and Sid walked towards the shot car. As they approached the car he saw one of the older men brandishing a tech 9 as he held the passengers hostage.
" Sid…what the hell is this?!"
At this Sid answered sheepishly.
" I'm sorry guys….. he insisted on tagging along."
At this point one of the kidnappers, the one with the toucan nose, got really close to Bruce's face.
" oh yeah?!… and who the hell are you mister nosy?"
At this Bruce quipped.
" says the guy who almost poked my eyes out."
At this point the crook was about to point his gun in Bruce's face as the man in question never lost his cool.
"where are my manners….. my name is Bruce Wayne….. I trust you heard of me?"
At this the crook pointing a gun to his face responded with.
" let's say we believe you… what's your angle?
At this Bruce fainted innocence all the while checking what happened and if no one was hurt.
" angle….. right, putting it simply, take me hostage and let the rest of these people go… they don't worth a fraction from what I am."
At this the crook grinned.
" nice try asshole but the minute I let the rest go the cops won't hesitate to cap me right between the eyes, so everyone's gonna get comfortable and acquainted for the next hour or so"
With that Mr. Wayne was 'seated' with the other travelers while the crook made his way towards the driver's car as Bruce assessed the situation further.
'Richard….. whatever you do now….. stay safe.'
As the crook passed Richard's current location without taking notice of him, he observed what was happening as the next thought sprang to mind.
' okay….. the train got hijacked….. now how do I signal for help….. there's not much room to sneak around in here…. and surprising him won't do any good…. unless….'
At this point Richard waited for the right opportunity. Over the next 20 minutes the train roared passed several stations pissing off passengers hoping to board the train as the crook went back for the rest of his friends as Richard made sure to stay hidden until the crook came close to him and as it happened Richard made sure to stumble into him.
" what the hell?!…. oh it's you kid…. what do you want?"
At this Richard fainted being sick.
" train's moving too fast….. I'm about to throw up….."
At this the crook almost lost as he said.
"suck it up kid… you're gonna be here quite a while…. and if you don't I'll shut your mouth with glue…."
At this Richard muttered.
" really?, this is the best you can come up with?"
At this the crook caught some of it as he pointed his gun towards the kid.
" what did you say….?"
At this Richard answered.
" I said I'm coming with boss."
At this the two headed back towards the car filled with hostages as Richard got reunited with Bruce.
"what have you learned so far?"
At this Richard whispered.
"they're covering their basics…. the only way to stop them is to try and take them by surprise one by one or…."
At this Bruce raised his eyebrows in surprise as Richard finished.
"make them go after their own."
At this Bruce showed a grin approving of Richard's plan as he asked.
" you plan on going after the one with the big nose first don't you?"
At this Richard replied with.
" yeah….. but I'll need your help, if I screw this up we're goners"
At this Bruce responded with.
" hey you're not gonna screw this up…. you know why?, cause you're smart….. for now follow my lead."
With that both waited for the ring leader to walk away as sid and the other guy came into the car to replace their boss with watch duty.
" hey you over there….. come here for a sec…."
At this the thug, a blocky looking fellow, came over asking.
" you got a death wish or something?…"
At this Bruce chuckled.
" no….. but following your bosses plan?, that would surely end you up six feet under…"
At this the blocky crook was ready to cock his gun as Bruce continued on.
" I mean look at us…. he's taking hostages and he doesn't bother making rounds to the bathroom…."
At this the rest of the hostages agreed asthe crook asked.
" okay you got a point….. if anyone has to go raise your hand…."
With that a commotion started as the crook made himself heard.
" okay…. okay….. I get it… no more than two at a time….. starting with you two….."
As Bruce and Richard nodded they followed the goon into the bathroom stalls both thinking the same thing.
' so far so good…'
Once in the bathroom stalls both Richard and Bruce looked at the goon in annoyance as they asked.
"do you mind?!"
At that the goon barked back.
" actually I do now hurry up before I pop the both of you's right between the eyes"
As soon as the goon said that the train came into a sudden halt as the goon lost his footing while Bruce and Richard maintained their balance as the goon muttered.
" what the hell was that about?"
At this point Bruce helped him up to his feet asking.
" your buddy over there didn't tell you much did he?"
At this point the goon gave a look that indicated that the rich man was right as he continued the conversation.
" did you guys have any plan to begin with…?"
At this the goon took offense as he marched Bruce and Richard at gun point, disregarding what he brought them over there to begin with.
" our goal was simple…. rob this train blind of it's cargo, get in and get out….. that's it….."
At this bruce continued nonchalantly.
" and the sweaty kid?"
At this the goon laughed saying.
" him?!….. he's practically useless, just a distraction for someone like Batman to beat while we slip away unnoticed."
At this point the crook with the big nose appeared as he punched his friend straight into his face.
" he talks too much… and you ….. you have a very important phone call to make…"
At this point Bruce stood his ground.
" not unless I know none of the other passengers on board are hurt…"
At that the crook grinned as he pointed his FMK-3 at Bruce Wayne.
" they'll be fine as long as you don't do something stupid"
With that Richard tried blending into the background as the crook caught it straight away.
" that goes for you too…."
At that Richard cussed under his breath as the three of them went back to the hostage car as the crook left Richard with the rest of the hostages and Sid sitting as far away from the captive audience, though to be fair he was a hostage of sorts as well, a fact that Richard tried to play into an advantage.
" say you didn't want to get mixed up into this whole mess did you?"
At that Sid tried to keep his cool as he answered.
" well…. of course not, but it beats selling knock offs on the street….."
At that Richard continued the conversation.
" couldn't be that bad anyway right?"
At this Sid got a bit suspicious.
" hey… what are you getting at anyway?"
At that Richard fainted innocence.
" get at?…. what do you mean?"
At this Sid lost his patience which led Richard to hook him in with the following.
" I heard it from your friends ….. they're using you as bait for Batman…. and you know what that means right?"
At this Sid just went into a shocking realization as he nodded staring off into space for a few more minutes before asking.
" say if I'll help all of you escape?…. could you throw in a good word with the DA?"
At this Richard answered as follows/
" I'll do one better, I'll tell them like it is….. who knows?, maybe they'll call you a hero by the end."
At that Sid perked up a bit as Richard made sure he stayed grounded.
" stay focused Sid, tell me anything useful about your former friend….. the one with the nose."
At that Sid began to talk while Richard scanned the car for anything that can be used as a weapon for self defense while Bruce made it to the driver's station with his 'host' as Bruce noticed that the driver was slightly bleeding from his forehead.
"are you okay?"
At that the driver answered.
" as long as I keep my nose clean."
At this Bruce whispered as soon as the crook turned around away from ear shot and eyesight.
" you're doing great, now keep calm… I got a plan to get us out of this…"
At this point the crook returned as he said the following at gunpoint.
" use that mouth of yours and contact commissioner Gordon and city hall otherwise…."
At that moment Bruce slipped into his Batman persona as he countered back, never giving away too much to the kidnapper.
" I'm going to say it only once, I'm going to administer first aid to the driver and then I'll make your little phone call….."
At this point the crook laughed out of pure surprise as he cocked his weapon.
" you got a death wish pal…?"
The only answer he got was the following
"you think guns scare me punk?….. you think I don't know what death feels like….?!"
At this point the crook had nothing to say as Bruce continued, moving past the crook as he reached for the first aid kit.
" if you feel like it shoot me, just be warned that you won't see a cent out of it…."
With that said the crook grunted out of anger, knowing he couldn't do or say anything as he walked back towards the hostages as he fished out a pack of smokes, once he was far enough Bruce whispered.
" I bought you a few minutes…. contact the police, ask for comissioner Gordon, explain the situation to him, leave nothing out."
At this the driver asked.
" what are you gonna do?"
At this Bruce gave a wry grin.
" evening the odds."
With that Bruce left the driver after finishing patching him up as he snuck out of the train discarding his casual clothes as it was shown he was wearing underneath the Batman outfit minus the gloves and cowl as he fished those out of his utility belt as he snuck on board just in time as the train began to move again. Back at the hostages car the crook came in angry as he took a couple of puffs of smoke every two minutes as Sid quietly pointed out.
" he's pissed….. he's really pissed…"
At this point the crook heard him as he came over to berate him.
" feeling comfortable are we?….."
At this Sid comically nodded 'yes' while a few seconds later he nodded 'no' in fear as the crook grabbed him by the collar as he yelled at him while giving him a small backpack.
"make yourself useful and relieve these nice folks from their valuables…."
At this moment Sid showed a rare moment of courage.
" hey could you do me a favor and make up your mind already?…."
At this the crook was about to shoot the kid as he asked him in a threatening manner.
" and what the hell's gotten into you?"
At this point his stuttering came back.
" you're… you're taking….. things….. too… far…. I only joined….. cause you said…. it would…..be…. a … victimless….. crime…."
At this point Richard rushed in saying.
" don't shoot."
Before the crook could give a piece of his mind Sid intervened.
" he's right…. the hostages could get harmed…."
At this the crook begrudgingly let the two walk away as Richard said.
" thanks… you saved my bacon….."
At that Sid gave a soft smile saying.
"sure…. but do me a favor….. don't make it a habit….."
With that the situation defused for a little while, back in the last few cars the goon who got punched in the face started to come to and needless to say he was not happy whatsoever. He wasted no time trying to reach for his gun however he couldn't find it and that's when he heard a voice coming from behind him.
" looking for this?….."
Before he could utter a sound the figure from behind revealed itself as batman as he quietly knocked the goon out before continuing on to where the hostages were, keeping in mind to stay as hidden as possible before he finds the right time to strike fear in to the crook orchastrating the entire kidnapping all the while thinking to himself.
' Richard….. I hope you're keeping your cool in there….'
At this point and time Sid went one hostage after the other filling the bag he was given with valuables for about a couple of minutes before he stopped, spotting the silhouette of a bat shaped creature as he froze in place, noticing it Richard quickly went over as he whispered.
" you saw something didn't you?"
At this point Sid tried to speak but nothing came out as Richard continued.
" keep going like nothing happened, the moment your 'friend' with the nose suspects something we're doomed."
At this Sid nodded slowly as Richard noticed the crook with the nose was now staring at them suspiciously almost as if he had heard their conversation as he acted fast.
" hey genius I don't want to tell you how to do your job but unless you want your hostages to drop like flies I'll stop at the next station and get everyone here some water."
At this the crook grinned as he cocked his sub machine gun.
" smart kid…. but I'm smarter so that's why you're gonna come with me."
Richard mentally cursed himself as he did what the crook with the gun 'asked' as they both left the car with the hostages towards the driver's section as Richard went along for a while until they reached the train's controls.
" say old man, how much further until the next stop?"
The driver simply answered.
" not for another hour."
At this point Richard asked intending to draw some time.
" how's the wounds?"
At this point the crook lost what little patience that he had as he pointed the machine gun towards Richard.
" your old man took care of him just fine….. say, where is he anyway?"
At this point Richard thought to himself.
'gee…. that's one hell of a question….'
At this point Batman sneaked into the hostage car as he instructed everyone to quietly leave and take cover as Sid quietly pointed out.
"there's another hostage…. up ahead… a kid…."
At this Batman responded silently but with as much authority.
"thank you….. now remain with the hostages out of sight."
With that Batman went on ahead until he came face to face with the crook once again, this time holding Richard hostage at gun point with Batman's muscles tensing.
" so Sid wasn't good enough as a punching bag either….. figures…."
With that batman said nothing as a few solid minutes were spent in total silence as the train kept on roaring as the crook started to laugh pointing out.
" you know….. I expected you to be scarier….."
Still Batman said nothing as the crook at this point started to crack up.
" no….. one….. would believe…. it…. Batman….. the Batman….. is scared… of… me…"
At this Batman replied as follows.
" I'm waiting."
At this point the crook's laughter died and turned into confusion as he asked.
" waiting?!….. waiting for what?"
At this point the crook's concentration broke for long enough for Richard to make a sprint for it as Batman charged silentlyat the enemy, as though his feet never touched the ground, disarming him of his weapon as delivered a solid punch to his stomach rendering him unconscious as Batman asked silently.
" are you hurt?"
At this Richard replied.
" only a bruised ego, other than that I'm A-Ok"
With that Batman gave a small nod as he walked passed Richard without uttering a word as he carried off the unconscious crook as he returned him to the car where the hostages once were, setting him down before going back for the second accomplice as he carried him too as Sid came out of hiding reaching his hands in slight fear.
"Batman sir….. take me in…. as well….. I should have stopped them a long time ago…. but I….. didn't."
At this Batman replied.
" understand this I'm not a cop nor you could undo your past mistakes… however there is something you could do right now."
At this Sid listened to him intently as Batman instructed.
" guard your former friends until we reach the nearby station"
With that Sid gave a solid nod as merely an half hour later the train reached the next station where commissioner Gordon waited with a few trusted police officers to take the crooks and Sid into custody as EMT's waited to aid the hostages aboard the train.
" what do you think will happen to Sid?"
With that Batman answered with a straight forward manner.
" he will do time, however with the right lawyer and the fact that he cooperated with us in this hostage crisis I suspect he'll manage to reach a deal… now about you."
At this point Richard beat him to the punch.
" way ahead of you on that one."
At that Richard went over to be checked by the EMT's as Gordon reached Batman.
" thanks for your help as always."
At that batman gave a small nod asking.
"everyone accounted for?"
At that Gordon let out a small sigh.
" everyone except Bruce Wayne…. you wouldn't know where he is do you?"
At that batman answered.
" hopefully back home by now…. after all he's the one who ran into me, telling me what went down."
At that Gordon gave a playful chuckle.
" I see…. that man ought to receive a medal."
At that Batman gave a nod as he waited for Gordon to turn his attention to somewhere else before disappearing. A few minutes later after Batman disappeared Richard disappeared as well as both of them reached Alfred's car, a silver Rolls Royce Phantom, as the butler greeted them.
" I trust your little escapade went well?"
At this moment Batman removed his cowl as Bruce Wayne answered.
" actually next time we'll take the bus."
At this Richard laughed exclaiming.
" actually I'll settle for a nice game of tennis next time."
At this Alfred replied as he drove both of the masters home.
" what a wonderful idea."
On the drive home about an hour in Bruce asked Richard.
" feeling better about yourself?"
At this Richard took a moment before answering.
" ask me again tomorrow…. at the moment it's too soon to tell."
Smirking at the answer Bruce dropped the subject as they drove home in relative peace until Bruce spotted the Bat signal in the corner of his eye.
" Alfred…."
At this point Alfred nodded silently replying ' I know you'll probably work late as usual'. At this point of the story Night-wing noticed that little M'ari started yawing as she snuggled in her mother's arms as he chose to end the story as follows.
" and with that Batman flew off into the night once more with his trusty sidekick staying by his side keeping him and everyone safe and sound…"
At this Starfire giggled as she pointed out.
" your daughter is already fast a sleep."
At this Night-wing gave a small smile asking.
" you think she liked the story?"
At this Starfire replied fondly.
" I'm not sure….. but I am sure she loves the man telling the story."
At that Night-wing continued the conversation playfully.
" oh really?!…. and why is that?"
At this point Starfire pulled Night-wing into a passionate kiss as a few moments passed before he found his words once more.
" a compelling argument."
With that Starfire gave a smirk as Night-wing left her bed as she playfully asked.
" and where are you going at this hour?!"
At that Night-wing answered innocently.
" oh nowhere just finishing up a few things before going to bed."
With that Night-wing left after he got a playful smile from Starfire as he couldn't help but think to himself.
' how could I be this fortunate at life?… scratch that thought, that always leads to trouble… just be glad that you are…'
With that said and done Night-wing reached his office as he began updating his logs.Well half way into his work Night-wing receives a video call from Batman himself as Night-wing accepts it hoping against hope that his mentor just called for a regular check in, however judging by the man's ragged appearance Night-wing knew that wasn't the case.
" we can skip the formalities and get right to the chase."
At that Batman gave an ironic smile stating.
" I'm relieved that some of my teachings stuck, thank you."
With that Night-wing urged Batman to continue so he did.
" a new villain has been plaguing Gotham for the last few months murdering and maiming drug dealers and hired muscle from left to right, goes by the moniker The Red Cowl."
At that Night-wing instinctively asked.
" would you like me to offer a helping hand?"
At that Batman allowed himself a small sigh as he replied.
" thank you truly, but I called to give you a heads up, this vigilante is as ellusive as they come…."
With that Night-wing continued by asking.
" I'm guessing you're looking into the man behind the mask?"
At that Batman acknowledged with a small nod as he concluded the conversation with.
" I'll keep you posted with updates Batman out…."
At that Night-wing stated before ending the transmission.
" let's have an actual conversation soon…. it's been long enough."
At that Batman returned the sentiment in his own way as he terminated the call before Night-wing sighed.
" I had to ask for a little excitement….."
at that Night-wing got up from his chair as he headed to ops room only to catch Cyborg leaving towards his room.
" sorry to spring it on you at the last moment but I just got off the phone with Batman…."
At this Cyborg asked.
"knowing him he did more than just making casual conversation."
At this Night-wing smirked as he remarked.
" exactly a new lunatic popped in Gotham, someone calling himself Red Cowl and I'd like us to start an investigation on him."
At this Cyborg continued the thought for him.
" and you want to tap into the grid to find anything you can about him."
At this Night-wing nodded a 'yes' as Cyborg muttered.
" I should've made a clearer rule about overtime…"
As the two began to do research in ops room, a mysterious figure clad in dark grey leather, crimson red gauntlets and dark orange amunition belts across his chest and both thighs stalked Titans tower for a little while before mounting on a costumed made Harley muttering.
" don't over exert yourself prick…. I want you at your best when I bring you to your knees…."
With that he drove off into an unknown part of the city as in the meantime Night-wing was neck deep in research as he looked over to the clock.
02:30 am.
"let's call it a night….."
At that Cyborg joked.
" don't you mean morning?"
At that Night-wing countered that joke with a better one.
" do you think Star will forgive me?"
At this Cyborg shrugged.
" knowing you you'll either be fine or ending up sleeping on the couch."
With that said and done Night-wing returned to Starfire's room as he sneaked quietly into bed as he took off the uniform as he snuggled between his wife and little M'ari as he laid awake for a few more minutes thinking to himself.
' I will protect you….. whatever it takes….'
At this moment Starfire gently woke up as though she was reading his mind as she stated.
" as much as I and M'ari love you…. please promise me that you won't lose the very part of you that I fell in love with."
At this Night-wing softly spoke.
" I promise."
At this Night-wing/Richard closed his eyes and fell a sleep not knowing that that night's sleep will lead him into one of his more harrowing cases yet. As the next morning came he and his family were enjoying breakfast as Changeling and Raven returned from their 'second honeymoon' with the shape shifting hero carrying most of the luggage.
" morning lovebirds, how was your time off?"
At that Raven made a neutral expression saying silently 'it was' as Starfire hugged her stating she missed her terribly as Changeling dropped the luggage out of the way.
" Dick….. do me a favor….. next time I say 'let's fly economy class' do me a favor… talk me out of it."
At that Night-wing patted him on the shoulder as Changeling collapsed comically face first into the floor as he muttered quietly.
" sorry about that….."
At this Changeling stated.
" it's alright."
As Raven helped her Husband up from the floor the mysterious figure that stalked Titans tower was having a little 'chat' with the pint sized menace known as Gizmo on the other side of town in a half way housing for parolees, though the villain wasn't doing much talking since the figure, now identified as the Red Cowl was beating him within an inch of his life.
" so you want to mouth of to me midget?"
At this point Gizmo could only manage a weak smile before passing out while the Red Cowl sighed under a skull shaped mask.
" I hate it when it happens…."
A few hours have passed until Gizmo regained consciousness again yet it wasn't much of a pleasant awakening since he was waking up screaming as the guy who beat him was now nailing him into the wall of the building in a messy X pattern all the way from the top of his arms to his legs.
" good now that you're awake again you mind if I ask you something?"
At this Gizmo mustered all of his spit as he spat in Red Cowl's face, smearing blood along the way.
" fuck you… faggot."
At this Red cowl did nothing as he continued as though as Gizmo gave him permission.
" you know why there's no honor among thieves?"
At this Red Cowl answered without waiting.
" one reason amongst many is they don't keep their mouths shut when it's needed…"
At this Red Cowl dropped the nail gun as he produced five rusting nails and a hammer as he hammered the four nails into the sides of Gizmo's scalp and both cheeks as the villain now victim struggled to maintain consciousness as the torturer went into the living room, tossing it a bit, as he fished aTitans communicator.
" you know what I hate more than a loud mouth?….. a squealer…."
With that the Red Cowl prepared to hammer the final nail in Gizmo's coffin.A few short minutes later the Red Cowl activated the distress signal in the communicator as he muttered while dropping it to the floor as he made a silent escape.
" you best be hurrying up…..Robin…"
As the Red Cowl drove off on his costumed motorcycle the Titans drove from the tower as fast as they couldonce the signal reached them.
"so what do you think Gizmo wants this time?"
At this point Night-wing only responded with.
" I really hope it's just a coincidence…."
At this Changeling raised his eyebrow.
" what do you mean?… don't tell me we're in deep shit again….."
At this point Night-wing gave him the low down at what happened a day before his return from his honeymoon as the T car arrived at the half way house in less then 30 minutes as the Titans present, Changeling, Cyborg, Raven and Night-wing got out of the car all entering the half way house unsure of what they might find once they'd pay a visit to Gizmo.
To be continued.
Author's notes: as you might have guessed, I am writing a new story, the fifth and final in a saga featuring some of my favorite characters from the DC universe, regardless to say but I have no ownership on any of them, now for those that are sharp, yes I'll take some liberties with one specific character yet I'll try and portray him to the best of my abilities with the outmost respect. Now fro fun trivia and titbit, this chapter was heavily influenced by two pieces of media, first an episode from Nash Bridges called Night Train and Batman the animated series episode The man who killed Batman. With that said I'll hope you'll enjoy reading the story and please don't forget to read and reread my stories and review them.
P. s thanks a bunch to my usual readers and reviewers.
Next time: a new villain appears in Jump city killing super villains and criminals alike while drawing Night-wing's attention.