I've noticed that BB hasn't had much interaction in my story so I'll try harder to fit him in somewhere. On with chapter 16!
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"No," Cyborg mentally slapped himself. How could he have been so stupid just leaving her there like that?! He ran over to the pile of ruble and began to climb up. He had to get back to the tower. Carmen was easy prey if taken by surprise. Gizmo flew after Cyborg with his jet pack.
"Where are you going dribble-face?!" he fired lasers at Cyborg which made him fall back to the ground. A large number of Slade robots jumped down from the surrounding roofs.
"Aw man," Cyborg whined. The other Titans prepared for attack. Throwing a perfectly aimed rock, Cyborg managed to knock Gizmo off course before climbing up the pile of ruble again. "Stay away from me you little cretin!" Cyborg yelled.
"Beast boy, help Cyborg get back to the tower!" Robin ordered as he fought Slade's robots. Beast boy nodded and transformed into a pterodactyl. Starfire threw a number of starbolts at their surrounding foes while Raven occupied herself by dodging Mammoth. Seven robots beat Cyborg to the top and shot at him until he fell back down. Gritting his teeth, Cyborg fired his arm cannon and skimmed over his desired area until Beast boy snatched him from the ground.
"Thanks BB, fly to the tower as fast as you possibly can!" Beast boy nodded and sped up towards the tower.
Carmen ignored the intense burning in her leg and lungs, her number one concern was escaping that Slade character and his tacky underling. She ran blindly in through the tower. She didn't know where to go, or where she was going for that matter. As she ran, Carmen saw a small puddle of blood on the floor. She stopped and looked around.
"I've been going in one big circle?!" Carmen exclaimed, realizing that she stood at the very spot where she had fallen earlier. Aggravated, she punched the wall. "This…this isn't like me at all," Carmen looked at her now smarting knuckles. "What's wrong with me?" Rain began to sprinkle, taping almost silently against the large, floor-to-ceiling window on the opposite side of the hallway. Carmen leaned against the wall for a moment before sliding to the floor. Watching the rain grow in strength, listening to the taping grow louder and more consistent as more rain fell was hauntingly soothing. In the index the only thing keeping her sanity from diminishing early was her memories of the rain. The sight, the sound, the very smell soothed her mind, making her fall into her sanctuary of her mind. He was there, in her sanctuary. He orbited everything she loved. "Victor…" Carmen's eyes reluctantly closed. As her thoughts re-gathered, she wondered. "Victor? Is that why I'm acting so strangely? Am I becoming…impatient?" She shook her head. "I have to give him time," Time was essential in any relationship that hoped to be built. "You gave him time. Four years time! Shouldn't that be enough for him to build up the courage to answer, whether it's a 'yes' or a 'no'?" Carmen fell over in exhaustion. Resting her head on her arm she gazed out the window. The sudden cloud burst had ended unfortunately. The sound of footsteps awoke her from her near slumber. Quickly she stood up, immediately realizing how much more difficult it was to start moving again after ignoring her agony when she ran before. Carmen covered up her right ear and heard footsteps from the left. Covering her left ear she heard footsteps from the right also. They where trying to corner her! "Nice strategy," she thought. Desperately, Carmen looked around from some means of escape. Looking up, she noticed the ceiling lights. When she went to S.T.A.R. Labs with Victor way back when, she helped the custodian replace a ceiling light. He let her climb up the high latter and help him connect the wires together by handing him the tools and stuff. She saw parts of the ventilation system that was hidden by the ceiling tiles and how much space there was between the ceiling and the actual roof.
Shimming up a near-by support beam, Carmen managed to push up a ceiling tile and lift herself up into the small hole. Though it was very painful considering her injured leg. Spreading her weight over the tiles, Carmen waited for her pursuers to meet.
Cyborg and Beast boy landed on the roof of the tower.
"Seems quiet enough for this time of night," Cyborg scanned the area with his sensors.
"Well yeah, what did you expect? If they wanna get Carmen, they'd be as stealthy as they could, right?" Beast boy glanced at Cyborg. He never really saw those certain emotions mixed together in him before. He was angry, ashamed, but also calm, or at least he pretended to be. Emotions like that weren't normally mixed together in one situation. "Hey Cy, can I ask you a question that you'll say isn't…what's the word? ... relevant to our little situation?" Beast boy asked timidly. Cyborg continued to look the roof over.
"If you already know what I'm gonna say why do you need to ask?"
"Well, maybe if you know that I know what you're gonna say you'll say somethin' different," Beast boy said trying hard to use his words correctly. Cyborg sighed.
"Fine. What's your question?" he asked.
"Umm, were you and…Carmen ever going out?" Beast boy asked. Cyborg stumbled slightly over his own feet. "Cause it seemed to me that you guys had some thing going on," Beast boy took a small step back. Cyborg looked down thoughtfully. They had a chance to build a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, but because he was afraid of the what-ifs he hesitated and missed his chance. Robin was right about one thing: four years is enough time for people to change. If Carmen changed, she might not have those same feelings anymore. If he brought it up, she could get angry at him for saying anything after so long.
"No Beast boy, we never went out," Cyborg said casually. In his mind he was screaming. "Enough with these damn reminders! I'm going insane!!!"
Carmen drew a sharp breath as her adversaries grew closer. Their shadows were on the floor, walking towards each other. She didn't dare to breathe when their bodies came into view. Watching attentively, Carmen also listened to the sound of their voices.
"Did you find her?" Slade asked. His foggy voice sending a chill down her spine. Jinx shrugged.
"She must've found a place to hide, I can't find her,"
"Check the rooms thoroughly," he commanded. Jinx bowed and replied.
"Right away." Slade watched her walk off, but stood in the hallway for a moment, examining the blood stain on the floor.
"I need to find you Carmen. I need to see what kind of power you posses," Slade walked in the opposite direction as Jinx. Carmen raised an eyebrow. Power? What power? She had no special power. Sure she'd been to the index, but that was a total accident. Or was it?
"Whatever. I still need some way out of this wee mess I've made," Carmen crawled on her belly, careful not to buckle the tiles and fall through. She had only gone about twelve feet when Jinx came around the corner. Carmen froze, which in itself was a bad idea. She stopped moving over a section of the ceiling that was made of thin metal. The sudden weight made the metal shift slightly, making quiet thud sound. Jinx stopped in her tracks and looked around for the cause of the sound. She opened the nearest door quietly and walked in slowly. Carmen exhaled and looked forwards only to come within centimeters of a large rat's nose. She screamed loudly and fell backwards, crashing through the ceiling tiles. Ignoring the pain in her back, Carmen jumped up and slammed the door to the room Jinx was in. She sprinted down the hall, while Jinx opened the door clumsily and ran after her.
"Dude, did you hear that?" Beast boy asked nervously as they headed for the roof entrance.
"I bet the whole city heard that scream." Cyborg replied kicking the door open. They ran down the stairs as fast as they could. Cyborg knew Carmen was in immediate danger now. Only she knew how long it had really been. "I'm comin' Carmen. Hang on," Beast boy and Cyborg ran down the hallway to see Carmen turn so sharp she slid into the wall. Jinx was in hot pursuit, shooting hexes at her while she ran. The crumbling floor beneath Carmen closely followed her. She swerved to dodge opening doors and shattering lights. Carmen hadn't noticed Cyborg and Beast boy's entrance, running like the track star she was, her surroundings were just blurs. She ran straight for them. Cyborg extended his left arm out and pulled her close to his body when she ran into his arm. He fired his arm cannon at Jinx, who did a couple back hand springs to dodge.
"Victor?" Carmen looked up at him. Panting from exhaustion she smiled. The blood on her leg had dried some, but the pain had not yet diminished. She cringed when Cyborg wrapped his other arm around her legs and ran towards the stairs to the roof.
"I got ya Carmen, don't worry," Cyborg reassured. He and Beast boy ran up the stairs as fast as they had gone down. The other Titans just landed on the roof when Cyborg kicked open the door. (A/N: He's got his hands full.) "Hey guys we got some major problems,"
"We took care of Gizmo and Mammoth. What happened here?" Robin asked. Beast boy stepped forwards and flailed his arms.
"Aw dude, it was freaky! That Jinx chick was trying to off Carmen! You know, making stuff fall on her, the floor in the south hallway is GONE, and to top it all off she chasing us!" they looked towards the door. Nothing came. "Well, she was chasing us," Robin looked from Beast boy to Cyborg. Carmen buried her face in his titanium chest and hyperventilated quietly. Her clothes were stained with her own blood and beads of sweat ran down her face. She began to cough. Her voice hoarse from her dry throat. Raven took a handkerchief from an inside pocket in her cloak and dabbed the sweat from her forehead.
"Salt from sweat stings the pores, but you'll be alright," she said reassuringly. Carmen smiled at her while resting her head on Cyborg's chest. He blushed slightly, then there was an awkward silence among them. Beast boy smiled evilly at Cyborg, who glared at him.
"Don't look at me like that Beast boy," he warned. Robin noticed movement near the door. He went into his fighting stance.
"Get ready guys. We've got company." Cyborg stepped back behind the rest of the Titans and set Carmen down. She looked up at him nervously, begging him with her eyes not to leave. Seeing her expression, Cyborg knelt down to her level.
"Hey, I won't let anything else happen to you, ok?" he locked eyes with her. Carmen was beautiful even when she was dirty and in pain.
"I know you won't," she nodded. He smiled at her, then prepared for a fight like his fellow Titans. They waited in a creepy silence for the enemy to attack.
"Why do they not come?" Starfire asked. Carmen felt an uneasy jolt shot up her spine. Starfire looked around franticly for their enemy. She looked back and gasped.
"Carmen beware!" Starfire pointed. Slade hovered over the shaken Carmen. His arm extended quickly and grabbed her upper arm. Pulling her up off the ground, Slade smirked behind his mask. Carmen struggled to no avail. Slade motioned towards the door.
"Attack." With the command, Slade's minions came from their hiding places and surrounded the Titans. Jinx jumped in the front line, and attacked the Titans. "Now that I have you, you'll show me what powers you posses," Slade came within inches of Carmen's face. She swung her free arm around and clubbed his head. While he recuperated from the blow she twisted her wrist out of his grasp. Carmen fell five feet and crashed to the ground. Her back was surely going to bruise now. Before Slade could get her again, Cyborg emerged from the crowed of robots and scooped her in his arms. He turned his back to the edge of the tower to face his opposing foe. Carmen locked her arms around his neck as she reclined in his arms. Jinx noticed Cyborg and Carmen standing at the edge and threw a hex at Cyborg's feet. The building crumbled and they fell of the tower. Robin had witnessed the whole thing.
"Cyborg!"
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What now, what now? R&R