Author Note.
I worked hard on this chapter so I hope you all enjoy it
DC Gothic – Red-X 2
Whacky Races
Shadow Squad HQ – Jump City
"Yo boss man!" Gizmo shouted out as I walked past his workshop "You might want to see this".
I went into the room and saw on a screen what appeared to be a middle aged man holding a briefcase.
"However this guy is he knows who we are" my little buddy told me "This was sent to us".
So it was a recording rather than a call. Which made me wonder who the man was going to talk to.
"What's buzzin', cousins?" the man said.
By the looks of things he was standing in the middle of the road.
"You're going to hand over what you stole—now!"
That voice had come from off-screen, and it was some distorted but I knew at once who had spoken: The Boy Wonder.
"Chill out, cool cat. The Ding Dong Daddy ain't cruisn' for a bruisin'. The prize is yours. All you gotta do is race me for it" said the villain.
So this was another of the Teen Titans playmates, those guys had to deal with some odd customers.
"Racing. Sounds fun" commented Gizmo.
"What does he mean by prize?" a voice inquired.
That had been Beast Boy I was sure.
"The prize is bulletproof, fireproof, blastproof. Has an encrypted lock. And here's the real kicker" said the crook as he turned the case.
On that side was the R symbol the current Robin used.
"Robin, when you said we had to stop a crook, I think you left out a minor detail—you were the one robbed!"
That had been Cyborg.
"It doesn't matter. This is your Last chance. We can do this the easy way or the hard way" the Boy Wonder remarked.
So Bird Boy had a suitcase which contained something so valuable that he felt it needed to protected by a bomb proof container.
"How 'bout my way?" the Ding Dong Daddy asked. "You want it back; you'll need to beat me in a race"
I suspected that the case had something of great worth within it, but only to Tim Drake. I doubted it was any sort of classified information or bit of exotic technology.
"That's if you have the wheels for it!" the crook then added.
Given that we had been sent a copy of this conversation it was clear to me that we also being invited to star in Jump City's own version of Whacky Races.
"You're challenging the T-Car with that thing? Oh, you are on!" said Cyborg in a cheerful tone.
That was the image changed to show a map and the route of the race.
"I'll see you at the finish line! Be there or be square!"
The message ended and Gizmo turned to me.
"I bet that things got of all Robin's little secrets in it" the tech wizard said "We have to have it, boss man".
The little guy was surprised when I didn't agree with him.
"If it does then we have to make sure that only Robin gets that case" I told my teammate "Because if people find out who he is then they will be able to figure out who Batman is, and if the Dark Knight is exposed then there won't be anyone to stop the likes of the Joker".
Before the tiny terror could reply to that I spoke some more.
"And I already know all of Robin's secrets" I told the midget of mischief "So if someone else gets that kind of information then I lose my advantages over him".
Gizmo stopped to think for a moment.
"So why don't we go get that case and then blackmail him with it" the group's tech support suggested.
There were a number of reasons why we couldn't do that.
"Well for starters if we do then Batman will come after us" I explained "And you guys don't heal as fast I do. Trust me Caped Crusader will do some major damage to us all. Then there's the fact that anything that harms one Titan can harm them all, and I don't want that".
Gizmo nodded his head in understanding.
"Because of the kid" he said.
That was part of the reason.
"And because we can beat the Titans" I said to him "But if they get killed or have to disband then the League will just send someone else to deal with us, or even a group of people".
It was a case of better the devil you know.
"Wait that means we have to go help those mud-eaters" Gizmo moaned "Awww, man".
That was when I smiled.
"I'm going to go help them" I said "But that doesn't mean you have to. This is a chance to confuse our enemies, and to have some fun".
Wanting to explain things further I sat down and told Gizmo of my plan. By the end of the tiny terror was rubbing his heads with a glee and promising to spend tonight finishing the new X-bike while the girls were out doing whatever it was they did on their night off.
I'd used to own a flying motorcycle, but for the life of me I couldn't remember where I'd stored the damn thing.
(Line Break)
"Attention all bad guys! Bird-Boy's secret stuff is up for grabs! All you have to do is win some stinking race! Start your engines!"
I smiled under my mask as Gizmo played his role. As for me I was busy going over my playlist because I wanted only decent music blasting through my eardrums when I rode my hog.
Today was a fine day to not only confuse the Teen Titans, but also to get a good measure of our fellow super crooks. Plus we would have fun driving really fast, and as guys we just loved that.
The race started and Ding Dong Daddy whizzed ahead desperate to keep his early lead in the race for Robin's briefcase as the Boy Wonder and I were already gaining on him. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Robin push harder on the throttle and accelerate his bike, so that we were neck and neck with each other.
"So what's in the case?" I asked out curiosity over the comm channel.
The crazy thing was that even if I actually got my hands on the thing I would simply turn it over to the Titans just to mess with their heads so it didn't really matter what was in it.
"You'll never find out!" Robin retorted over the radio he had built into his helmet.
I suspected it contained a photo album of his life, or something else which could be dangerous in the wrong hands because it could expose Tim Drake.
"We'll see about that!" I shot back as I slammed up against Robin.
His bike skidded to the far side. Then it hit the railing that was the only thing between us and a very long drop down into the canyon below. The Boy Blunder managed to regain control of his cycle and then he tried to shove me into the side of the road before he accelerated just enough to pull ahead of my bike.
Not wanting to make it easy for him I pushed my cycle harder and hoped that Gizmo was as a talented with machines as Cyborg was, because going full throttle like this had to be a strain on the bike.
When I caught up to Bird Boy again I aimed at punch at Robin's face, but he avoided the blow and retaliated with a quick kick that nearly knocked me off my ride. Given the speeds we were going at it would have been very bad for for ever of us if we hit the road.
I then spent just a second or two thinking that this race must look so cool, but being in the thick of things I had no way to tell how awesome it all looked. However I knew that Gizmo was recording everything as was Blackfire who was watching from a distance up somewhere high. Which meant that later I could watch me work.
A few moments later I brought my bike slamming back against the Boy Wonder's cycle. Sparks flew until Robin managed to push me away. That was when I realised that the guy we were chasing as was managing to put some distance between him and us.
When the Titan also realised this both of our motorcycles followed in pursuit and at the same time we tried to outmanoeuvre each other. Only it was all a waste of time as suddenly Ding Dong Daddy's car increased speed at an unbelievable rate.
I had to wonder how such a clunky looking car could accelerate like that. By all rights the vehicle should have shaken itself apart by now.
That was when I noticed that Tim Drake had managed to match speeds with the guy we were chasing. Also someone else on a bike was catching up with us.
"Rose!" I said in surprise.
It was Ravager, and she was even hotter as a biker chick/assassin. Her ride was sweet. It looked a lot like my own for the most part only it was blood red rather than jet black and her skull symbol was a little different than mine.
Sadly for her being all sexy and having a cool bike wouldn't stop me from kicking her out of this race. I couldn't let someone bent on destroying the Titans get possibly critical information on one of them.
If her plan had simply been to sell the info off to the highest bidder and run off with the money then I would of have been more honourable, but since it wasn't I had to stop her at all costs.
With that it mind I took out my sickle and it grew it something the Grim Reaper could have owned at one point. With it I slashed at her tires, but she was able to protect her bike by using a sword. It was really tricky to do the whole clash of blades thing while racing down curving roads, but somehow we managed the feat.
Then I ended the fight with a slash to a wheel. Ravager lost control of her ride and seconds later she was crashing into a truck of some sort. I knew she wasn't dead, because if she was anything like Slade then no mere road accident would kill her, and I also knew that she'd make me pay for doing that sometime in the near future, but for now at least she was out of action.
I decided then to keep up appearances and seconds later Robin was blocking a swipe of my scythe with his Bo Staff that he had taken out from his utility belt. Then he swung his weapon at me and I parried the blow with my own weapon.
"You cat's are a blast!" Ding Daddy then said over the radio.
Now that he'd gotten my attention I chose to make him pay for it. I pushed the throttle of my motorcycle to its limits and I chased after Ding Dong Daddy's car. Robin followed suit.
"Why are you doing this?" Robin then demanded over the comm unit I had in my mask "You don't even the need it"
From those words I came to conclusion that what was in the case would in fact expose Tim Drake, and that Robin knew that I already knew who he was. That would explain his confusion. However it didn't explain how he knew that I knew his real name as he shouldn't remember the time Slade had unmasked him.
"It means nothing to you" the Boy Wonder than said directly into my mask "It's only valuable to me".
He was right, it did mean nothing to me, and deep down I had to admit that I was mostly doing this for the sheer thrill.
"Its worth a lot to my client" I said.
While there was no one waiting to pay me for the case, this was at least a motivation that Bird-Boy could understand.
"How much would it cost for you to help me get it?" The Titan asked.
Those words surprised me so much I actually slowed down. I couldn't believe that this hero was offering to pay me.
"What are you offering?" I asked.
Drake didn't need long to answer.
"I can get you your old bike back" he offered.
Now I knew that Batman had to have it. Which wasn't that shocking really as that guy was known for taking mementos. As for the bike itself, it was superior to the one I was riding now because it had alien tech in it.
This meant if I could get it back then Gizmo might be able to combine the best of both bikes into a new cycle that could outperform the one I had now. But even if he couldn't my old bike had great sentimental value, and it was a total pussy magnet. Blackfire could get horny from just thinking about getting to ride it.
"Done" I said "You stay on Ding Dong I'll deal the others".
I reduced speed and saw that Gizmo, the Puppet King, Some moth guy with Kitten, Mad Mod, Control Freak, Dr. Light, Johnny Rancid, and a few others I didn't even know about, were still in the running.
With a smile on my face, that was hidden by the mask, I switched the bike over to autopilot. Then I the pushed the button on my utility belt and that teleported me over to a man called Johnny Rancid who was also riding a motorcycle. Which made me feel sad for having to destroy the bike, as it was a sweet ride.
"Get off me you freaky goth!" he shouted.
Well that was what he seemed to say. I couldn't be certain because of all the background noise, but still I couldn't risk the remark unpunished, even if it was true. I was a freaky goth.
After grabbing something from my belt I showed into my fellow biker and he began to slow down so I quickly placed my hand on the front of the motorcycle. What I'd attached was a X shaped Xenothium-powered explosive and while the crook couldn't know exactly what it was he had a clue because Rancid quickly jumped off his bike. Then he watched his vehicle tumble end over end and explode
I had jumped off to just in time to see a limousine drive past and I teleported onto the roof. My suit allowed me to stick to the vehicle so then I was able cut my way inside. A second later I landed in the back seat, and the guy I thought was Killer Moth and a girl called Kitten, who'd never met but had heard a lot about, were staring at me.
"Hey, cutie" I said to the teenage girl "What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this".
Before either of them could react I used the X shaped blades on the back of my hands like they were chainsaws. With them I sliced the limo in half, and that soon made it impossible to drive.
"Call me!" Kitten called out as I teleported away.
My next target was Control Freak's convertible however I didn't take it out a once. Instead I first used my throwing Xs to disable Mad Mod's car. The tires of his odd card popped as all the air escaped, then the British villain lost control and ended up crashing into the vehicle I was currently standing on.
I managed to teleport out of the way, and that was very good as my actions had caused a multi-car pile up that only Gizmo's armoured truck was able to get through intact.
"Hey, whose side are you on barf-brain!?" Gizmo screamed at me as I teleported into the seat next to him.
He was understandably upset right now.
"Robin's paying me to make sure he wins" I told my little pal.
That made the tiny terror burst out laughing.
"The snot-licker must be totally desperate!" Gizmo said in glee.
This I could agree with.
"Pull out of the race, but keep close so you can record me" I ordered "I'll make it worth your while with some new tech you can play with".
I didn't bother to listen to any response he might have made as I was already on the move again.
Next I made my way to a large school bus with an oversized rocket attached to the top. I had no idea who was in that thing so after wreaking even more transports I went to check it out.
After landing on the roof of the bus I poked my head inside an open window in order to see inside. To my surprise I saw Raven of all people at the wheel and Starfire sitting on the seat beside her. This confused me as the T-car, which was Cyborg's ride, was still in the race and these two could fly so they had no need to take a bus.
"Need a lift?" Raven asked sarcastically.
I teleported inside, and I was so glad the Gizmo had made the suit's systems so much more energy efficient as otherwise I would have drained the batteries by now. Still this was all rather mentally taxing so I took a seat at the front of the bus.
"Who else is left?" I asked then Starfire.
She turned her head and ignored me, and given that I'd upset her best female friend I didn't blame her for being mad at me.
"I think you got everyone" Raven said coldly.
Upon hearing that I knew I had no welcome to overstay so I blinked a number of times in order to contact my bike and the X-Cycle was soon driving itself alongside the school bus.
"My rides here" I told the girls.
I had been about to teleport onto it when Raven turned the steering wheel hard and we ran into the bike. While my cycle was a tough it didn't mass anywhere near as much as a school bus so it was wreaked by the impact.
"You bitch!" I shouted out.
Before I could do anything other than stand up the floor beneath me went black and I fell through it onto the road below. Thankfully the transition was instantaneous all I'd been under the bus.
However I wasn't stranded for long as Gizmo had park his truck near by destroyed bike. The little guy had spent most of last night putting the finishing touches to the cycle, now it was ruined.
"I can fix it. I can fix it!" my little buddy was shouting while taking out some tools.
This was a sad sight, it was like watching a doctor struggle to save a patient he was very attached to.
"Give it up, Giz" I said while putting a hand on his shoulder "It's gone".
He didn't accept that.
"No I can rebuild it" he promised "We have the technology!".
Despite the sadness of the situation I couldn't help but smile upon hearing those words, but my mirth didn't last very long as Raven had crossed a line. She'd destroyed something of mine now I was going to make her pay.
Revenge would be mine, and it would be sweet.