Shadows on the Wall
Chapter 3. At Death's Door.
I look inside myself and see my heart is black
I see my red door and it has been painted black
Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts
It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black
The night has come and the moon has risen. It is time for me to resume my never-ending crusade. The rain is falling in torrents, and within minutes of stepping outside, I am soaked from head to toe. By the time I reach the main street, my clothes feel like they weigh a thousand pounds. It's more an annoyance than anything else. There's about an inch of water on the ground, but not even this biblical rain stops the people from lining the streets. Most of the people look like faceless specters all bundled up in their raincoats; some times it's hard to tell where one person ends and another begins. These people do not concern me this evening, for tonight I have a special appointment. Thanks to a tip from a recently departed friend, I found out about a robbery that will be attempted on a weapons warehouse in another part of the city. Unfortunately, I do not have enough time to walk their, so I am forced to hail a cab. I have to get around somehow, and there's no faster way short of being able to fly. After about five minutes of standing on the side of the street with my hand in the air, a driver proves bold enough to pull over and pick me up.
"Where too?" The driver asks. In the interest of anonymity, I have my collar pulled up around the sides of my face, and my fedora pulled down tightly over my brow. I can tell by the driver's quick glances that he is trying hard to get a good look at my face.
"Gorham Avenue." I climb into the cab, keeping my head low. "Get me there quickly and there'll be a special bonus."
"Whatever you say." The cab driver's eyes keep peering into his rear-view mirror, far too many times than was needed. He was silent throughout the drive, opting to only ask one more question.
"You look pretty pale, man. You alright?"
"I don't get much sun."
"Gotcha"
---
Later that night.
"Robin, exactly how long do plan on keeping us our here? Beast Boy asked, drying his hair with his sleeve for the umpteenth time. "It's rainy, it's cold, it's late and we have seen diddly-squat out here."
"We are going to stay here until we find something, or until the sun rises." Robin answered. "Someone is planning to hit this warehouse, and I intend to find out whom."
"I fear that Beast Boy may be correct, Robin." Starfire admitted. Robin turned from his scanning of the building to look at the alien girl.
"Not you too, Star." Robin groaned. He didn't want to admit it, but the downpour was starting to wash away even his determination. Twice Slade's minions had attempted to rob military caches, and twice the Titan's had managed to stop him. This was the only one left in the city, and Slade was definitely not the type of person would give up despite failing in the past. Robin would have bet his mask that Slade would be there he was so sure. Cleaning his binoculars, Robin returned to his watching. He did not have to wait long for his diligence to pay off. A hint of dark movement caught his eye. Minutes later, the giant door slides open and a small army of Slade's robots pour out carrying wooden crates.
"Titans go!" Robin yelled, firing his grappling hook and swinging down to begin the melee.
---
Earlier that night.
Traffic. The one thing that not even I can do anything about. Exactly one hour and twenty five minutes after the trip started, I finally arrive at my destination.
"Stop here." I tell the cabdriver. He pulls the cab over; I get out and start to walk away. For some reason, this seems to upset the cabdriver.
"Hey! What about my pay, and that bonus you promised!?" He shouts at my back. I stop, and slowly turn around to face him. He shouts at me again about the money.
"The bonus is that I allow you to live." As I talk I lean in close to the driver's window, and for the first time, the driver can see my entire face. His face has gone white with fear. I raise my arms above my hand, and form a gigantic black scythe in my hands. With one fell swoop, I slice the cab in half. The cabdriver stumbles out of the cab and falls to his knees at my feet.
"You have been spared. Now run." Without another word, the drivers scrambles to his feet and dashes off into the night. I watch him disappear off into the shadows, positive that he'll never forget our meeting, no matter how hard he tries. I stalk off towards the rear of the building, prepared to wait out the entire night for my quarry.
---
Later that evening.
The fight was going well for the Titans, even though they were severely outnumbered.
At the beginning of the battle, Raven and Starfire took to the skies, raining down starbolts and chunks of masonry down on Slade's minions. Cyborg and Beast Boy were next, using the confusion caused by the girl's aerial attack to strike directly at the center of the robots. Beast Boy transformed into a rhino and stampeded over any robot that got in his way. Cyborg rode in on his back, blasting any minion that Beast Boy missed with his sonic cannon. Once they reached the entrance to the warehouse, Cyborg leapt off Beast Boy's back right on top of a group of robots, smashing them to pieces. Beast Boy now transformed into a bear, and was swiping back and forth wildly. Robin was a moving blur, destroying one robot with his martial arts in a matter of seconds before moving on to the next one in line. As soon as a robot moved in close to engage him, it was as good as wrecked. Time and again his steel-toed boots found their mark. It was only a matter of minutes before the ground was strewn with broken parts, and the enemies rank was thinning. In the middle of the fight, Starfire noticed out of the corner of her eye a number of Slade's robo-minions attempting to carry several crates off to the rear of the building. Nobody else seemed to notice this, so the alien girl took it upon herself to chase after them and retrieve the ill-gotten gains. She hurtled after them, naively thinking that they did not realize that she was now on their trail. She was wrong. The robots turned a corner at the far end of the building, with Starfire following close behind. As soon as she rounded the corner, still flying at full speed, Slade's robots struck. A single laser bolt caught Starfire square in the back of the head, causing her to lose control and hurtle headlong into the ground. She finally skidded to a half nearly a hundred feet from where she struck the ground, though she had been knocked out upon first impact. Slade's minions closed in on her.
---
The sound of battle roused from my investigations, but it seemed to end as soon as it began. I rush in the direction the noise comes from, but all I see is a group of black clad men surrounding something on the ground that I do recognize. There is no doubt in my mind that there are the ones that I am looking for. I move forward, making no attempt to be silent. In fact, I want them to know that I am here. All at once, the men turn from the unmoving shape on the ground to face me. That strange smile slowly returns. The first of the men charges at me, aiming a punch for my head. I catch his hand and twist with all my might, and to my surprise, his arm tears from his body in a shower of sparks. The smile grows a little bit wider. The scythe forms in my hand for the second time that evening, and I tear into the robots with no remorse. One by one they attack me, and one by one I slice them to pieces. One of them sneaks up from behind me, and tries to pin my arms to my sides. I break his grip, whip around and knock his head from his shoulders with a single kick. It does not take much longer to dismantle the rest of the soulless monstrosities. At that point, I take the first real look at the limp form on the ground. It's a young girl.
"Now what am I going to do with you?"