A/N: Hey hey people! I'm back, & schools almost on break! YES! On a more topical note, thanx to all my reviewers!! I loved writing that chapter, mainly because I love that song, but that's beside the point… & all the positive feedback( including the stuff from my counterpart Gecko;)) has helped my to crank out another chapter. Now, this one will have more action, but its kinda short, because as I said, action is not my forte! So, enough talk, on to reading!

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Risks are a Part of Life:

What is an obsession? The dictionary says it is a " haunting or troubling that takes one over." I suppose that sounds right, but it doesn't explain the reality or depth of the word. In my opinion, a person who is obsessed with something, or someone, will most likely have some kind of reason to let it rule their entire being. It can be as serious as a religious fanatic obsessed with stopping a young woman from getting an abortion, to as trivial and simple as a teenage girl obsessing over the dramas that exist in her favorite TV shows.

But, what happens when that fanatic kills the woman in order to prevent the abortion from taking place? What happens when the young girl becomes so engrossed in her shows that she loses touch with reality, and ends up alienating everyone around her, because she hungers for that 'family's' lifestyle?

What happens when a young hero, so obsessed with a villain, is given a choice that forces him to face that very obsession? Sigh, I'm not really all that sure unfortunately.

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The civic plaza square was so beautiful after the city finished the reconstruction of all the damaged property, unfortunately, it seemed that Viper had taken a liking to the area to develop her ' artistic visions,' hence the area was trashed all over again.

Those poor city construction workers.

It was again in a state of chaos and mayhem, mainly due to the fact that Viper was bad enough on her own, this time she brought some friends.

' Well' Viper thought to herself as she watched the street crumble to pieces in front of her. ' Slade has his moments. These kids seem to actually know what they're doing.'

She patiently watched each one, little analysis' forming in her wicked little mind. ' The robot kid, Gizmo I believe, he's not to bad, just that he's annoying as hell. But, I've never seen anyone who can create machines like this though, to bad he won't last long with me in the picture.

' Oh, and then we have the guy who looks like he's been on steroids since he was three, Mammoth, Woolly mammoth to me though, hehe. Nothing all that remarkable to see here. Super strength, super tough, and super dumb! All that brawn is no good if you don't have a brain that knows how to work it! At least I have a little something extra to actually make me unique… well, enough said about nimrod here.

' And last, but definitely the pick of the litter here, Jinx, the young witch able to cast hexes of energy and bad luck. Now her, I could get used to working with…'

Viper broke out of her reverie to see that the Titans had finally decided to show up. Turning to face the other three, she let out a shrill hiss-like sound and then turned back to face the Team. She thought to notify Slade, but she figured he was probably watching them right now, waiting to make his grand entrance.

" Well, well Titans," Viper taunted as the group suddenly seemed to be right in front of her. " Come back for more? Didn't we learn from my lesson last time, um pity. Looks like you guys are just gonna have to make it up with some extra credit."

" Leave the stupid puns to me Viper," Robin replied, with a smirk on his face. " You're not really all that great with them."

" I know right," Viper answered with a mock sigh. " Just wanted to see how it felt like to be a total ass." She suddenly did a 180, and was deathly serious saying, " You better had brought it this time Titans, last time was just kid stuff. I don't have time to dick around any more." She slowly pulled out her jade kantana, and crouched into her stance.

" I don't know why you seem so cocky," Raven answered, annoyed with the girl's demeanor. " You look to be limping, and you're outnumbered."

" Not this time Raven," she answered with an evil little laugh. " I brought friends this time."

The Hive members decided to come out then, and stood defiantly beside Viper, awaiting their orders. After a very cliché western movie moment, all hell broke loose.

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Raven and Starfire launched themselves at Viper, and were actually putting up a pretty good offense. With Starfire's endless barrage of starbolts, and Raven blocking every exit available to Viper, the assassin was getting pretty hammered. And, everytime Viper turned to launch an attack at one of the girls, they would both fly just out of her reach, still throwing starbolts and force fields at her.

' I hate it when I'm right,' Viper thought viscously to herself has she battled the two Titans. ' I knew they would be more prepared, but no Slade wouldn't listen to me!' Feeling the rage bubble inside her, she lashed out more violently, even the playing field for the time being.

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Elsewhere, the boy half of the Team decided to take on the Hive graduates, and pretty much kicking the crap out of each other. Problem was that Slade appeared out of the smoke it seemed, said something to Robin, and that minuses one member of the team as the Boy wonder and Slade went at it. That just left Beastboy and Cyborg to take care of the Hive teens, except Cyborg and Jinx really didn't seem to want to fight one another.

While firing a blast that sent Gizmo flying, he turned to face Jinx and asked her, " Why are you even here Jinx? This isn't your fight."

" We were hired by Slade because his new apprentice didn't want to face you all again alone," she answered hurling a hex to knock over Beastboy.

After sending Mammoth through the wall with a massive punch, Cyborg turned back and walked right up to Jinx, leaving Beastboy to take care of the behemoth teen. He looked right at her and said softly, " You don't have to be there ya know. You don't belong at that place with Blood. You can just leave."

" And where exactly would I go Metal-head? To go live with you and be a Titan? Humph, I don't think your friends would be so accepting of that.," Jinx answered bitterly.

" How would you know that Jinx?" Cyborg countered as Beastboy sent Mammoth flying over them. " All you've known is that place, and that isn't the best environment to grow up in, and be accepted."

" They accepted me, Cyborg," Jinx replied quietly, although not so sure of herself anymore. " They did."

They're conversation was cut short as Gizmo arrived again, and Cyborg turned to face him. Jinx, on the other hand, stood still, to lost in her thoughts to realize what she was doing.

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Now, while this was happening, let's cut back to the Slade and Robin showdown. As aforementioned, Slade seemingly appeared from the smoke of one of Cyborg's blasts, and calmly strode out to meet the Titans.

" Well, we meet again Titans," he said in that deathly calm voice of his. " Robin, it seems to me as if you've lost your touch, are you ready for a real challenge?"

" I've been ready Slade," Robin growled out as both he and Slade pulled out their bo-staffs, and launched themselves at each other.

It really was amazing to watch, both fighters so gifted in their skills, it seemed like a beautiful, but deadly dance between the two hated enemies. Every attack Robin launched at Slade was parried or dodged in some way, and vice-versa. It looked as if the dance wouldn't stop, but Slade was a lot more enduranced than Robin, and finally hit the boy in the chest with a right hook that sent him flying into the wall. Robin, in a good amount of pain, was just barely able to roll out of the way of a devastating staff blow, but was met with another swift punch that sent him reeling into the other wall.

" Come now Robin," Slade taunted as the boy wonder struggled to his feet. " you can't be tired already, why I haven't even broken a sweat." He strode over to Robin, grasped him by the neck, and slammed him into the wall. " And, this time, I'm very real Robin."

Robin suddenly smirked and sent Slade flying into the street, a number of mini-bombs shells still smoking on his chest.

Approaching Slade once more, Robin said, " I figured you were asshole, maybe you shouldn't let your guard down so easily."

Slade, seeing that his team was losing made a strange hand signal and countered, " Yes, your right Robin, but then again, you shouldn't have either."

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Viper was now putting up a good fight, hurling Raven down the street over to where Beastboy and Cyborg were with a massive kick. She turned to see Starfire floating there, determination etched across her face.

" So Red," Viper called out. " Come back for more? As I recall, I got you pretty good last time, are ready to take that risk?"

" You will not prevail this time Viper," Starfire answered angrily. " I now know how you fight, and am better prepared to administer the 'kicking of the butt' to you!"

" Is that so? Even when lover-boy over there is getting whipped by Slade?"

" Robin?" Starfire asked worriedly.

" Yeah, Bird-boy," Viper jeered back. " You know, he's pretty hot, maybe I'll convince Slade to keep him around a little longer, I could always use a new chew toy."

Starfire was not quite sure what Viper meant by those words, but she knew that she didn't like them one bit. " YOU WILL NOT TALK ABOUT ROBIN LIKE THAT!" she shouted as she blasted Viper with starbolts and eyeblasts. It was clear to see now that it wasn't very wise to piss off a Tameranean.

Looking up dazed after the assault, Viper saw Slade make the hand gesture that she thought was the most ridiculous thing she had ever seen, but knew what it meant. Flipping up, she pulled a long rod out of her jumpsuit, how she got it in will not be answered, and pointed it straight at Starfire, shooting an orange colored beam at the alien and sending her flying towards the ground. For good measure, Viper decided to blast Raven as well, also sending her towards the ground.

Time seemed to stop for a second, until finally Cyborg sent a huge blast at Gizmo and Mammoth, sending them reeling back towards Slade. Jinx and Cyborg stared at each other, before the witch turned to join her retreating comrades. Beastboy, so shocked to see raven lose control of her powers so suddenly, seemed to be locked in place until he finally transformed into a very fat elephant seal, and cushioned Raven's fall.

Slade, met by Viper as he started to walk away, walked past Robin and whispered in his ear, " Only can choose one thing Robin, catch the bad guys once and for all, or save the person you so foolishly decided to care for. That is why you 'heroes' aren't supposed to fall in love."

Robin, facing an inner battle with himself, finally let out a very, VERY loud yell, crouched down and swung his bo-staff at Slade tripping him, before he went to go help Starfire, who was a little dazed by her fall.

' So that's what he chooses," Slade thought to himself after Viper pulled him up, and they both went running after the Hive members. ' You just made a fatal mistake Robin, one that will cost you dearly in the times to come.'

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After the Titans made sure all the civilians were alright, they gathered around to see if anyone was severely injured. No one was, but there was one slight problem.

" I can't seem to use any of my powers," Raven answered when asked if she was alright. " I think that beam disabled them somehow, not permanently, but at least for a few more hours. But, it makes me and Star pretty much useless anyway."

" Yes," Starfire agreed. " I also cannot use my powers, I believe I have become ' weight that is dead'?"

Realizing that they were pretty helpless until the girls regained their abilities, they decided to go back to the Tower, seeing as they would not be able to capture any super-villains today anyway. And so, they walked the sad march back to their home, heads hanging in defeat, and a shadow looming over their souls.

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The other members of her team were all quite ecstatic over the battle that had just

transpired. Slade's idea of using his new Neutralizer beam on the Titan girls was pure genius to them, even if the effects were very short, and the beam was pretty much trashed by firing it twice so close to one another. So, Gizmo and Mammoth decided to go celebrate with a couple of Pizzas, it was after all, a huge success over the Titans for the Hive, and they were sure Brother Blood would allow them to live a little for one night.

Jinx, on the other hand, was not so jubilant or ecstatic over their battle, it just seemed wrong to her. To tell the truth, Jinx had been feeling this way over the last couple of assignments she had to do, ever since Cyborg had infiltrated the Academy, and had spied on them for three weeks! She had feelings for him then, and after today's little escapade, she knew she still had them now. Furthermore, she also believed him to feel the same way after their little 'conversation' in the street that afternoon.

' Could I really leave this place?' Jinx asked herself, the same question that had haunted her since Cyborg's deception had been discovered.

' I mean, the Hive took me in when I had nowhere else in the world to go. They're my family, well, the students are at least.' She wasn't so sure about Brother Blood anymore; his choice to associate with Slade and his new apprentice didn't really appeal to her.

' That girl, Viper, is way too irrational in her thinking, I don't really care for her at all! Always acting so high and mighty all the time because she's an "enhanced" being. Honestly, she's no better than any of us here!'

She stopped herself there, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention to herself because she lost control of her powers in some inner tirade. When she finally arrived at her dorm, she closed the door, and simply lay down on her bed, just staring at the ceiling.

' I know leaving would be wrong, I know there isn't any chance I would be accepted anywhere else. I even know that all those Titans probably don't even want to add another member, I mean, look what happened when they did! There are just way too many risks to even really consider it rationally.'

She just laid there for about an hour, both arguments in her head unrelenting in their pursuit to gain her favor. And as she lay there, she mulled over the implications of the plan she knew that nutcase Slade was planning, but Viper seemed to be pissed off at the world, so she really didn't care what Slade did to it. Jinx narrowed her eyes in determination then, finally coming to a decision, whatever the implications might lead to.

" I'll take the risk," she said fiercely to no one in particular as she pushed herself off the bed, and grabbed a bag.

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A/N: Okay, it was a bit longer than I thought. These never look that long down on paper…oh well! Remember, feedback is most appreciated, oh, and try to give me your e-mail address too, cuz I like to thank my reviewers like that, not by listing them at the beginning of my story! Okey-dokey, I'll try to get chapter 5 out by the end of this week, but it is final week so, I can't promise y'all anything. I think you'll like the next chap., but the next couple are going to be introspective stuff, so be prepared. Also, fluff soon to come!! Yeahh!!! Osco