Jump City Cantata
A Teen Titans Fan Fiction by Jake McDonald
Opening notes: Okay. Here it is. Chapter Seven. The delay was due to numerous factors, not the least of which were school, illness, computer trouble, and the holidays. But I'm back now, and I'll be cranking 'em out on at least a bi-weekly basis. I hope. Classes just started again, and I've got NO electives this semester. Straight business classes all the way. Gag.
Chapter Seven
In hindsight, Robin would realize he probably could have handled the situation with more grace. He could have been far more calm and collected about it.
But one didn't find out one's arch-nemesis was still alive every day.
"WHAT?" he shouted at his T-Comp, "Slade?"
"Yes, Slade." Raven scowled at him, "Now get your head on straight and chill out."
"Chill out? CHILL OUT?" he was screaming now, "Fuck you, Raven! I'll be on the first flight back there and we're going to go out and-"
"No." Raven's voice was calm, quiet, and collected, but it cut through his shouting like a hot knife through butter, "You'll stay in Gotham and finish the case you're working now. We can handle this while you're gone. In fact," Raven's eyes narrowed, "I think I prefer you there. Don't come home until I give the word to."
Raven gaped at her and even Starfire was in shock, "What the hell are you talking about Raven? I lead the Titans-"
"And you put me in charge before you left." the psion pointed out, "I don't need you haring all over Jump City trying to catch Slade because of some stupid vendetta. You'll stay in Gotham until I call for you." Robin opened his mouth to give an angry retort, but she cut him off again, "Don't make me call Batman."
He snapped his mouth shut. It was like telling him that she'd tell his parents he was being naughty, but it was still effective. He knew she'd do it to, if she felt the need to. His eyes narrowed in anger, and his teeth grit in frustration, he replied, "Fine."
"Good. I'll keep you updated. Star, keep him in line please."
"Yes Raven." she nodded, taking the request as an order. It was all Robin could do to not scream at both of them.
"Oh, and Robin," Raven smiled lightly, "Jinx has been wearing your uniform. Is that okay?"
Robin's face changed from angry to confused, "Why has Jinx been wearing my uniform?"
"She felt like filing in for you while you were gone. She actually looks pretty hot in it."
"Please tell her not to... I don't care, but Batman might. He's kind of a control freak like that." Robin rubbed his eyes through his mask.
"Okay then. New uniforms for Jinx and me then." she sighed, "We need to go shopping."
"Okay," Robin shook his head, "Being dead obviously did something weird to you. I'll talk to you later Raven. I want updates daily and every time you get a major breakthrough, got it?"
"That order I will take. Raven out." Robin snapped his T-comp shut and sighed.
"My own team." he glared at Starfire, "You could have backed me up."
"But she is right. It is better for you to remain here." Star leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his waist, "We must finish what we have started, and when it comes to Slade, you do tend to be a little..." she trailed off, looking for the right words.
"Fanatical?" he grinned.
"Overzealous." she amended with a giggle.
"Fair enough. Hey, let's head back to the Batcave and see if Alfred has lunch ready yet. We'll need our rest for tonight."
"May I ride with you?"
"Of course." he put his helmet on and was about to jump on the bike when the communicator started beeping.
The female voice that crackled through was familiar, but he couldn't place it right away, "Batman! Please tell me you're actually awake and that you don't just come out at night..."
Robin hit the button to respond and spoke, "That's a negative, whoever this is. Look, I don't know how you got this frequency, but you need to get off of it right now."
"Sheesh. You must work with Batman. Are all of you Gotham types this anti-social?"
"Who the hell is this?" Robin demanded.
"Black Canary." she responded, "Who the hell is this?"
"Robin. Sorry about the confusion Canary, but we don't usually just let people use this channel." Black Canary was a JLA member, an expert martial artist, and a woman he had met only once, "Batman is indisposed at the moment. Is there anything I can help with?"
"Any help would be nice. There's a truck load of baddies with sub-machine guns blasting up the First Gotham Bank downtown. How fast can you be here?"
"Pretty damn fast. I'll be bringing Starfire with me as well."
"Who?"
"Don't any of the JLA keep up on what the Titans do?"
"Some of us. Just not me."
"Whatever." Robin growled at her, "Just keep them busy until we get there."
"Right. Canary out."
"Robin out." the line went dead and he jumped on the bike, "Get on, Star. We're going to have to go fast."
"Right." she jumped on the back and Robin kicked the engine over.
Raven was walking down the hall when the door to her room opened and an exhausted but happy looking Jinx stepped out. She was wearing one of Raven's long t-shirts that dropped to her knees, and grinning like she'd just been laid.
Raven didn't even slow down, "Get Beast Boy up will you? You two have slept in long enough."
"Whoa. What's the big rush?" Jinx's smile faded.
"We just talked with Red-X-"
"He was here?" Jinx tensed.
"Uh huh. We ate breakfast together."
"Wha..." now the pink haired sorceress just looked confused.
"Long story. I seem to be collecting those. Anyway, I talked to him and he told me he's been working for Slade. The bastard just wont stay dead."
"Shit." Jinx fell back into the door way and leaned against the frame, "This is bad, Raven. Slade is worse than you know."
"I figured you might have some insight since you've worked for him. We'll discuses that while we get new uniforms put together. In the mean time, Speedy is here, and I want the boys out tracking down clues while we're working here."
"Right, right. No rest for the good guys huh?"
"We've had almost two months of quiet, and now Slade's back? I don't like how the math is working here."
"You think we're going to get hit hard?"
"I think he's going to have every nasty baddie he can dredge up after Jump City." Raven rubbed her eyes, "So get Beast Boy up and get him out of my room. I need to get dressed after I give Cyborg and Speedy their orders."
"Right." Jinx nodded, now in full Titan mode. She was more like Robin than she knew.
"Robin said no more wearing his uniform by the way, so we'll have to work up something unique and stylish."
"Stylish?"
Raven nodded, "No sense kicking bad guy butt if you can't look good doing it."
Jinx grinned and winked at her friend, "I'll get BB up."
"Good girl. See you in a few minutes." and Raven continued down the hall.
Speedy was channel surfing when Raven stormed into the rec-room. "Hey! You guys get like, forty more stations than we do out in New York."
"We signed up for extended cable." Raven stopped next to the couch and stared at the set for a few moments. Shaking her head, she stepped back and focused on Speedy. Her attention span was slipping now that she didn't have to maintain such a tight hold on her mind. "I've got marching orders for you."
"Man..." he sighed and shut the TV off, "I just got here Rae! Can't you give a guy who hasn't slept in two days a break?"
"You look fine to me."
"Really? 'Cause you don't look so bad yourself."
"I'm wearing nothing but a robe. You'd think any girl dressed like this looked good."
"I'm not NEARLY as big a slut as you make me out to be, you know."
"You've had sex with more people than I have." she rolled her eyes, "And the way I'm going I'd say you qualify as a slut."
"Really?" Speedy looked interested now, "So how many have there been? I know you fucked X-"
"He told you about that?" Raven felt her cheeks redden. Embarrassment. Just the emotion she needed.
"Yeah. He said you were a good lay, by the way."
"I'm overjoyed." she deadpanned, "If we could just not discuses my sex life, that'd be great."
"But what if I wanted to be part of your sex life?" he waggled his eyebrows at her.
"You'd have to get better lines and grow a new personality." she glared, "Business, please?"
Speedy grumbled and stood up with a sigh, "Fine."
She nodded and stood up a bit straighter, "I need you, Cyborg, and Beast Boy to scour the city for anything about Slade."
"Slade?"
"Brian told me that's who he was working for."
"Brain?"
She rolled her eyes, "I thought you were supposed to be as good a detective as Robin! Red-X, you dolt! Who else have I been talking to for the past half hour?"
Speedy glared at her.
Raven glared back.
The doors to the rec-room opened and Cyborg walked in, "Hey, Raven! You seen the hard copy of Red-X's file? I need it to-" he stopped when he saw the staring match. "Aw, comon' you two! Don't be like this already!"
"Like what?" they asked in unison as they turned their glares on the robotic Titan.
"Hey! Don't be like that to me either!" he walked over and pushed them apart a few steps, "Chill."
"Right... whatever." Raven rubbed her eyes, "Just... the three of you hit the streets and look for clues. I want every low life in the city questioned. Find any big baddies still at large, kick over their rocks and beat answers out of them. I want to know how Slade survived, where he is, and what he wants with the Arcana. Got it?" she lowered her hands and pinned Speedy with a steely eye.
"Clear as day, Raven." Speedy returned her stare and saluted.
"Good. Jinx and I have work to do here, but as soon as we're done, we'll try digging up anything on the computers."
"Good idea." Speedy nodded, relaxing now, "Did we ever figure out what his real name was?"
"No, but I'm sure Robin can dig it up at the Batcave if he really tried. It'll give him something to do to make him feel like he's helping to catch Slade too. Thanks for the idea."
"Any time. I have to get changed into my uniform. Where am I crashing?"
"Well, our guest room kind of just became Jinx's, so I guess Robin's room is yours for now."
"Okay." he turned to Cyborg, who looked absolutely bewildered, "Meet me back down here in ten. Page Beast Boy for me."
"I'll uh... come with you. I have some questions." Cyborg glanced at Raven, then hurried off after Speedy.
Raven watched them go, then transported herself to her room. She looked over at her bed and saw Jinx laying on top of Beast Boy. They were making out.
"I thought I told you to get him out of my room." she said in an icy tone as she tossed off her robe and walked to her closet.
"I tried, but he's just too damn sexy to remove him from bed..." Jinx giggled.
"We have a super villain to track down and lock up. Please get serious." Raven started digging through the clothes in her closet and came up with her standard leotard. Blue just didn't seem right anymore. She would have to change the color.
"Okay, we're going." Beast Boy said as he pushed Jinx up off of him and stood up out of bed. He grabbed his pants and pulled them on, then the rest of his clothes, and walked to the door. "You coming Jinx?"
"No, I'll take a shower in here, then Raven and I have to work on uniforms. I'll see you later."
"Okay. See ya' Rae!"
"Report to Speedy! He has your orders!"
"Okay! Sheesh!" and he walked out.
"He's so damn sexy when he's irritated at you." Jinx gushed.
"Is he sexy when he's inside out? Because I can do that if he's going to distract you like this all the time." Raven stepped out of her closet and tossed a tight black top at Jinx, "Try that. Your boobs are smaller than mine, so it might actually cover your stomach."
Robin and Starfire arrived on the scene to find the area around the bank in chaos. Five men with automatic weapons were shooting at anyone who came within fifty yards of them, and the few police officers that were there were pinned down.
As he hurled down the street on the Batcycle, Robin quickly picked out a blonde woman wearing a dark outfit hiding behind the shell of a blown up car. He formulated a plan quickly.
"Up, Star! Wait for my signal to attack!"
The Tameranian didn't need telling twice. She left the back of the bike and flew straight up and across the street to high cover. Robin pulled the throttle down and flew past the gunman, leaping off the motorcycle and executing a perfect flip to land neatly behind the car with the blonde woman.
"Black Canary?" he asked with an extended hand.
"Of course. Nice to meet you again, Robin."
"Nice to have you around. We would have been watching this on the evening news if you hadn't alerted us."
"Who was the girl?"
"That was Starfire." he pulled off his helmet, "Okay, I've got a plan, but for this to work, we're going to have to time it exactly right."
"Let's hear it." Canary said and leaned in to hear him better.
Speedy tossed his bag on Robin's bed and pulled off his shirt, "What's up, Cy?" he asked the robotic Titan who had followed him into the room.
"Just wondering what was up with you and Raven." Cyborg shut the door and arched an eyebrow at the blonde haired young man.
"What? We always fight like that." he shrugged, "I mean, she doesn't really like me all that much." he tossed his shirt aside and started digging for his uniform in his bag.
"I dunno man, I was picking up some serious tension between you two."
"Yeah, like I said, we argue a lot."
"I mean like, sexual tension."
Speedy stopped pulling off his pants and looked up at Cyborg like his head was on backwards, "The hell are you talking about?"
"You two were bitching at each other one minute, then the next you're all agreeable and stuff. 'Good idea!' this and 'Will do, Rae!' that... you two seemed like you were crushing all over each other." Cyborg smirked at him, "You like her don't you?"
"Dude, she's hot, okay? I saw her naked this morning, and she's like... wow." he smiled at the memory and yanked his pants on the rest of the way, "And now that she's gotten over the whole depressed all the time thing, she's actually kind of pleasant."
"You are crushing on her!"
Speedy grinned as he smoothed his mask on over his eyes, "Guess I can't deny it. I kind of like the new Raven."
"She seemed to like you too... but I think she has a thing going on with Jinx." Cy shrugged.
"Really? I thought Rae was straight."
"Well, maybe she's bi. We know she's slept with a few guys..."
The door opened then, and Beast Boy stepped in, "This is the best morning, ever." he stated and nodded as if it was fact.
"Okay... why?" Speedy arched an eyebrow.
"You are no longer looking at Beast Boy... today, I'm Beast Man!" he puffed out his chest, witch looked fairly comical on his small frame.
"Why are you Beast Man this time?" Cyborg smirked at his friend, "Did you open a jar all by yourself or something?"
"Fuck you." Beast Boy replied in a conversational manner, "For your information, I stand before you, my virginity no longer intact."
"Get out." Speedy smirked.
"You had sex with Jinx?" Cyborg poked him in the shoulder.
"Why yes I did, my cybernetic friend! And get this, we asked, and she said yes, so Raven joined us."
There was a beat of silence in the room, then Cyborg smacked his head. Speedy's smirk went away, and he straightened up. Lifting his bow and quiver from the bed and slinging them over his shoulder, the red and yellow clad archer stalked towards the door. Beast Boy saw the look on his face and got out of his way as quickly as possible.
"Meet me downstairs in five. Be ready for a long day of patrol." Speedy glared at Beast Boy as he walked past, "No excuses."
"Dude, what's your deal? I didn't mean to-"
"That's an order, Beast Boy." Speedy glared harder, pulling himself up to his full height, a head and a half taller than the changeling.
"Who the hell put you in charge?" Beast Boy leaned up in Speedy's face.
Speedy leaned in right back, his nose an inch from Beast Boy's, "The Justice League of America." he replied, and after making sure the statement had sunk in, he turned on his heal and left.
Beast Boy watched him go, then turned to Cyborg, "Dude, what the hell was that all about?"
"He heads up Titan's East. As long as he's out here and Raven's in charge, he's her second." Cyborg shrugged, "We follow his orders."
"I mean what was up with the attitude? The guy almost bit my head off for trying to apologize for whatever it was that pissed him off in the first place!"
"Just before you walked in, we were talking about Raven. The two of them... they seem to kind of... be developing a thing. I think it was always there, you know?"
"What?" Beast Boy looked totally confused.
"They always argued and fought before, but I think it was just a way to cover up their mutual attraction. He's sweet on her, and now that she's over her emotional problems, she's starting to become sweet on him."
"No way, dude!" Beast Boy shook his head, "They fight like cat's and dogs!" he morphed quickly between the two animals to emphasize his point.
"I know, but... you weren't there man. They were... showing respect for each other. I've never seen them do that before."
"Shit." Beast Boy thunked his head into the door frame, "Why do I always say the wrong things without meaning to? First Star runs off because I blab about Batgirl, and now Speedy's all pissed at me because he's crushing on Raven, who I just happened to brag about having sex with last night."
"You really had sex with Raven?" Cyborg looked shocked, "I thought you were kidding around!"
"No! She and Jinx and I had sex for about two hours this morning!" Beast Boy grinned, "Dude, it was awesome!"
"Yeah, tell Speedy all about it. I'm sure he'd like to take notes."
"Shit... right, right. I'll keep my big mouth shut today."
"Good idea." Cyborg looked at him critically.
"What?" Beast Boy squirmed under his friend's scrutiny.
"You're right. You'll be seventeen soon, and you're not really a Beast Boy any more. Beast Teen sounds way too stupid, and Beast Man is just... dumb."
"You think so? I thought it was kind of cool."
"No, we need a new name for you. We can't exactly call you Garfield."
"I told you never to call me that, ever again." Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, "Not funny dude."
"How about just Gar until we come up with something else?" Cyborg held up his hands in a defensive manner.
"That's fine, but no Garfield."
"Okay, okay..." Cyborg walked to the door and stepped out into the hall way, "...Garfield."
He took off running as Beast Boy lunged for him.
"That's crazy." Black Canary shook her head, "But we'll do it, 'cause it's more than I have to go on right now."
Robin smirked, "Trust me. I've done this before."
"Then you're crazy." Canary tensed her legs, "Whenever you're ready, Boy Wonder."
Robin flipped open his T-Comp and spoke into it, "Starfire, twinkle for me." He looked up across the street as bullets tore into the side of the car he and the blond woman were hiding behind. A brief green flash near the fifteenth floor told him where his girlfriend was. "Good. When I give the signal, I need you to blast the guns out their hands.
"All of them?" she sounded confused.
"Will that be a problem?"
"Not if I have about fifteen seconds. Can you stay alive that long?"
"Maybe. Shave it down to thirteen for me?"
"I'll do my best." her voice was coming through determined now. He knew she wouldn't let him down.
"That's all I ever ask from you." he glanced over the top of the car, "Okay, here we go." and he leapt over it and charged the gunman.
They were smart enough to not all be reloading at once, so several of them pointed their guns and began to fire at him. Robin was no stranger to dodging bullets though, having grown up on the mean streets of Gotham with Batman, who had more or less tossed him right into the line of fire from the get go. Not a single shot came near as he hurled head long at the would-be robbers.
Reaching the gunman out front, he slapped the barrel of the gun aside, "Star, now!" he shouted as loud as he could.
A hail of green starbolts rained from above taking guns out of the hands of the bank robbers and raising a swarm of curses from them. Not a single man was left with a gun.
Suddenly, the odds looked much better for Robin, who'd fought tougher crooks in larger numbers than this before. Having Black Canary on his side, and Starfire quickly descending from her lofty perch made this battle almost one sided.
As Canary came up beside him and punched the first man she drew near in the jaw, he went to work, subduing the eight men as quickly as possible, before any of them could retrieve a gun.
Across the street from where Robin was pummeling the daylights out of the crooks, a thirteen year old boy watched in fascination. He'd been walking by when the bullets had started flying, and had found cover behind a dumpster in an ally way.
Something about the way the Boy Wonder had moved when he dodged the bullets seemed familiar. Now the young man was studying Robin's every move, trying to place where he'd seen this particular style of fighting before.
Punch and kick at the same time. That couldn't be a normal style could it? Was everything the raven haired vigilantly did improvised? A spin kick into a sweep, taking down three men in half a second. Defiantly a form of karate. Some kung-fu chops, followed by a swift uppercut that seemed more like a boxing move than a martial art.
Suddenly, Robin ducked a punch from one of the robbers and jumped back, doing a back flip as he did. His feet caught the man in the chin, and he was bent in a 'C' for a moment before whipping his legs back down into a light crouch.
With that move, it clicked. The young man flashed back to seven years before, when he'd been attending the circus with his parents. That night, he'd seen the most amazing performer he'd ever laid eyes on.
Dick Grayson, of the Flying Grayson's. That night stood out vividly in his mind, because that was the night the Grayson's had fallen to their deaths due to faulty equipment.
He'd seen young Richard perform that exact flip, a trademark of his, and land it perfectly, just as Robin had done now.
As the strange flying girl tossed the last of the robbers into a heap, the young man stood up and looked around. No cops harassing them yet.
If he was going to do this, he'd have to do it now.
"Crazy." Black Canary shook her head and dusted off her hands, "Well, thanks for the assist Robin, but I have to get going now. I have work to do."
"Don't step on too many toes, Canary. Batman doesn't like outsiders operating in his city without his approval." Robin glared at her.
"I'll be good. Later." and the blonde took off at a light jog.
"She seemed quite... hip." Starfire tried her hand at slang.
"She's one of the youngest members of the JSA who's not a Titan. Only just twenty."
"I see." Star watched her run off, then cut down an ally, "I am glad she informed us of this robbery so we could stop it. These men were quite violent."
"She was probably just trying to make good for Batman so he wouldn't just kick her right out of Gotham."
"Do you really think so?" the Tameranian's eyes grew wide.
"Yeah. Wont work though. Batman doesn't like anyone messing around in his town."
"Hey!" a voice called from the street in front of the bank, "Robin!"
They turned to see a young man, maybe twelve or thirteen, jogging up to them, "Can I help you?" Robin asked. He wasn't in the mood for signing autographs today.
"Yeah..." the young man reached them and stopped to catch his breath for a moment. Suddenly, he straightened up and his hand shot out at Robin's face, reaching for his mask.
The grab was quick, and the kid obviously had potential, if not skill, but it still seemed painfully slow to someone with Robin's reflexes. He grabbed the young man's wrist before his fingers were even within a half a foot of his face.
"What the hell are you doing?" Robin asked with an annoyed tone as he shoved the boys hand away, "I don't have time for this. Star, let's go."
As he turned to walk to where his bike had skidded to a halt after he'd jumped off of it, the young man grabbed his cape, "I know you're Dick Grayson."
Robin whirled about and snatched his cape from the kids grasp. He was glad his mask hid how wide his eyes probably were, "What's your name, kid?"
"Tim. Tim Drake."
"Well Tim, I don't know where you got the idea that I'm the ward of some air head businessman, but I'm not. Now go home."
"You seem pretty upset for someone who claims I'm wrong, and I saw that flip. It's one of your trademark moves. I saw you do it seven years ago, the night your parents-"
Robin took a step forward and held up a threatening fist, "Don't you even say it."
Tim backed off a few steps, his eyes wide, "You are Dick Grayson!"
"Fuck." Robin said with feeling. First Kia, now this kid. Why were civilians suddenly getting the better of him?
"Robin... we must go." Starfire took his arm and tugged on it, "Leave him alone. No one will believe such a foolish story."
"Even if it's true." Tim nodded.
"It's not-" Robin started, but Tim cut him off.
"It is."
They glared at each other for a moment, then Robin's hand shot out, "You're coming with me."
"What! No!"
"You buttered the bread kid, now eat it."
"You can't just... the cops..."
But the police were just starting to show up, and the few officers that were already on the scene were still approaching.
"Now." Robin ordered and yanked on Tim's arm.
Drake gulped and walked with Robin over to the Batcycle.
Johnny Rancid opened his eyes weakly and looked around the small room he'd been staying in for the past several months as best he could without moving his head. Moving his head made it pound even more, and with a hangover like the one he had now, one didn't do anything to make it worse.
He stopped wondering what had woken him up so early (it was only noon for Christ's sake...) when his eyes fell upon a pair of black boots. Following the boots up the legs attached to them, he saw a young man, clad in a red, black, and yellow sleeveless uniform smiling down at him.
"Hello, Johnny." Speedy smiled an evil little grin.
"Hey." Rancid managed to croak out just before he found himself being lifted from the smelly old mattress he was sleeping on and hurled bodily across the room.
The large man hit the wall and fell to the floor with an almighty crash, sending up clouds of dust. "I'd say that you have a nice place, but really, this is a shit hole." Speedy walked over and lifted the groaning man to his feet, "How do you live like this dude?"
"What the hell do the Titan's want with me?" Rancid asked in a slurred tone. He was still a little drunk.
"We're looking for someone." Speedy shoved him across the room and he stumbled backwards until he hit something large and metal. Looking up, he saw the glowing red eye of Cyborg.
The robotic Titan spoke slowly so Johnny's beer dulled brain would process his question, "You heard anything about Slade recently, Johnny?"
"Wha...? No man, you guys dropped him into a lake of fuckin' LAVA." Johnny was regaining focus now, "I mean, who lives through that?"
"So nothing at all then?" Cyborg asked with a frown.
"I told you man, no!" the dark haired biker stepped away from Cyborg and shook his head, "I think you guys need to fuck off, before I get angry."
"Beast Boy," Speedy inspected his nails, "see if you can jog his memory a bit?"
"Wha-" Johnny didn't get any more out as Beast Boy suddenly appeared above him, morphing from a spider clinging to the ceiling into a bangle tiger. The four hundred pound cat slammed the biker into the floor, raising even more dust into the air. He pressed his claws down into Johnny's shoulders, drawing just a hint of blood.
Rancid looked up at the snarling green tiger, his eyes wide. He began to stutter out a confession, "Well, now that you mention it, I did get a bit of mail a little while ago... something about a big payoff for anyone who wanted to join up and help take out the Titans..." he gulped as the tiger moved it's teeth closer to his face, "It was signed with a 'S'!"
"That's helpful. BB, if you would." Speedy stopped inspecting his nails as Beast Boy stepped off of Rancid and morphed back into himself. He glared down at the half drunk man with disgust.
Johnny was just about to say something to the green changeling when an arrow buried it's self in the floor between his spread legs. He looked down at it for a moment, then up at Speedy, his eyes wide.
"I missed on purpose, trust me." the archer already had another arrow nocked, "No one finds out about this little chat, got it?"
"Yeah." Johnny nodded.
"Good." The arrow went back in the quiver, "We'll just show ourselves out then."
Once all three Titans had left, Johnny crawled back over to his mattress and pulled his ratty blanket over his head again, swearing to himself that he was going to give up drinking as soon as he ran out of beer.
"How about this?" Jinx asked, twirling slowly for Raven.
The psion looked up from where she was flipping through one of her spell books, searching for a color change spell, and gave her friend's outfit a critical look. She had her hair pushed up into it's usual two points, and a touch of dark makeup gave her face a sharp, exotic feel. Her top was the black tank that Raven had thrown at her earlier, and she was wearing black leather pants with the Titan 'T' sewn into the right leg, just above the knee. She wore calf high combat boots with more straps and buckles than was really necessary, and a Titan belt buckle topped off the ensemble nicely.
"Good enough." Raven nodded and went back to her browsing.
"Oh for crying out loud, Raven." Jinx walked over, "What color do you want?"
"White."
The pink haired girl eyed her friend, "You sure?"
"Yes." Raven thought back to her self actualized image in her mindscape, "Yes, definitely."
"Altrus, defidein, grartorinum!" Jinx said as she held her hand out over Raven's head. The color seeped away from the cloak and leotard she wore, and her boots lost their tint a moment later. "There. If you need magic done in the future, please ask the resident sorceress. I know you're good, Rae, but let's face it; I'm better."
"I don't draw my power directly from magic. I use psionics more." Raven shrugged, "I just haven't had the practice you have."
"Which is strange, considering your demonic heritage. Why is that?"
"I have both powers, but the psionic ones came easier because I had to keep such a tight control over my mind. Now that I don't have to, I'll probably start expanding my knowledge of magic a bit more." She glanced over at her book shelf where a black bound book with the name Malchior printed down the spine sat, "White magic, preferably."
"Can't help you too much there. I know almost all black or utilitarian magic." Jinx shrugged, "Uniforms, check. Now what?"
"We hit the web. If Slade is back in town, he'll be leaving digital footprints somewhere. We need to find them."
"Alright. See you down in the rec room then?"
"Yeah, I'll be along in a bit." Raven pulled out her T-Comp, "I need to call Robin."
Jinx waved over her shoulder as she stepped out of the room. Raven watched her go, then flipped open the communicator, "Raven to Robin."
Tim Drake landed on his rear hard, knocking the air out of his lungs. He gasped for breath for a moment, then sat up and glared at Robin, who had just unceremoniously knocked him off the batcycle.
They were in a forest somewhere. Tim didn't know where exactly because Robin had been driving so fast that he'd kept his face down the whole time to avoid wind burn. The ground was cold and muddy.
"Alright Timmy, start talking."
"About what? I already told you how I figured it out. You have to know what conclusions I'm drawing from all of this."
"What conclusions?" Robin arched a corner of his mask.
"About Batman. And Bruce Wayne."
"Bruce Wayne? The guy hardly has time to balance his check book, let alone run around Gotham in a bat suit."
"Liar." It was a statement of fact, not an accusation.
Robin glared.
Tim glared back.
Starfire stepped in between them and knelt down next to Tim, "Friend Timothy, you must understand that no one can know about Richard. He relies on his image as Robin the Boy Wonder to gain a psychological advantage over his enemies. It's what makes him such an effective crime fighter."
"I never said I was going to tell anyone..." Tim muttered and looked away.
"You must not, ever." Starfire placed a hand on his cheek and turned his head towards her. A blush crept up his neck. "Not even if you are tortured for the information. None of Robin's friends or allies who know of his real identity would give that information to an enemy."
Tim's eyes grew wide for a moment, then narrowed back down into determination, "Then I promise I wont either."
Star stood up and stepped away from him, giving Robin a meaningful look. He nodded and reached down, grabbing Tim by the shoulder and hauling him to his feet. "Thanks-" Drake didn't get the rest of his sentence out before Robin slugged him in the gut, blasting him back off his feet.
Gasping for breath and curled up in the fetal position, Tim could hardly struggle as Robin grabbed him and hauled him up again, this time belting him across the side of the head, sending him to the ground once more.
Starfire watched, knowing why this had to be done, but still not caring for it at all. This was how Robin operated. This was his test.
"What's your father's name?" Robin growled.
Tim, his brain scrambled, still caught on. He glared at the masked man.
"What's your father's name?!?" Robin shouted, grabbing the younger boy's arm and twisting it behind his back. Tim maintained his silence, even as his arm was pushed to the breaking point.
"I'll stop this as soon as you tell me what your dad's name is, Timmy."
"Eat it, Boy Blunder."
"You sound like the Joker." Robin twisted Tim's thumb back a bit more, drawing a cry of pain, "I don't like the Joker."
"Me either." Tim gasped out. Robin frowned and finally dropped the panting boy to the ground. Starfire stepped forward and helped him to move his arm back around to the front of his body, and bent it for him several times to work the bones and muscles back into their usual places. "You did not have to be so hard on him, Robin. He's a boy, not a hardened criminal."
"Do you think my enemies would care who he is? Do you think Slade would care?" Robin growled at his girlfriend.
She sighed, "I suppose not. Are you feeling better friend Tim?"
"Yeah... thanks." he blushed again and looked away from her.
Smiling, Star walked back over to Robin, "Now what?"
Robin smiled back at her and strode to where Tim was still sitting on the cold ground. He offered his hand, "No tricks this time, I promise."
Tim stared at the hand for several seconds before finally taking it and getting to his feet. Robin brushed some dirt off of the boys shoulder and slapped him on the back, "You're going to have a hell of a time explaining to your parents how you got that black eye."
"Shit." Tim probed the tender area under his eye a little, "Did you have to hit me so hard?"
"Yes." Robin shrugged, "Had to know you could take it. This is a rough life we lead, and if you're going to be part of it, then you'd better start getting used to it."
"Wait a second... who said I wanted to be part of your crusade against evil? I'm still in junior high for crying out loud!"
"You're older than I was when I started." Robin shrugged again, "And you kind of volunteered yourself when you came to me and started going on about my real name. Sorry Tim, but you're going to be a contact from now on. I'll talk to Batman about what else you might be useful for, but for now, I think you should worry about how you're getting home."
"Wait... where are we?"
"About two miles outside Gotham City limits. You don't live far do you?"
"Only about twenty miles or so." Tim glared.
"Better find a ride then. We're too busy to cart you all the way back into town."
"What?!? You can't just leave me out here!"
But Robin and Starfire were already getting back on the Batcycle, "Sorry Tim." Robin kicked the engine over and sped off through the woods, towards what Tim assumed was the road that had brought them here.
As he watched the dust settle, Tim sighed. Glancing at his watch he saw that he had three hours before his dad expected him back home.
Eyes narrowing and a grin growing on his face, he resolved to not fail another of Robin's challenges.
A green sparrow landed on the flagpole of The First National Bank of Jump City and let out a trill. It's head darted around, taking in all of it's surroundings. It nodded once, sure that there were no threats in the area, then lifted it's wings and took off again. Flying down the street a short ways, the green sparrow caught a hint of movement out of the corner of it's eye.
Swooping down and left, Beast Boy changed back into himself in mid-air, falling several feet to a rooftop below. An arrow with a rope attached to it shot through the space the sparrow had been just a moment before. It embedded it's self in the roof next to Beast Boy's hand, and a moment later, Speedy zip lined down the rope.
"Dude, not funny." Beast Boy glared.
"Sorry." Speedy shrugged as he picked up the arrow and re-strung it in his bow, "We still have a lot of ground to cover, Beast Boy. No slacking."
"Dude, seriously, talk to me here." Speedy turned from where he was about to shoot the arrow to the next building, and arched a corner of his mask at the changeling. "Look man, I'm sorry I pissed you off this morning... I didn't know you were sweet on Rae, or I never would have said anything-"
"It's fine." Speedy's shoulders sagged, "I'm more mad at myself really. Dating inside the team can only lead to trouble. I'm sure you and Jinx will have a grand time of it, but I don't think Raven and I would work well."
"Come on, dude... don't sell yourself short. You two would be perfect for each other." Beast Boy walked to the edge of the roof and sat down, his legs dangling towards the street fifteen stories below, "You can both separate work from play well enough."
Speedy joined the changeling at the edge of the roof, sitting down as well, "Yeah, but... I don't know. I'm nervous about starting anything with her."
"Maybe that's because you really like her... she's not just another fling like all the other girls."
"There's only been..." Speedy tried to count in his head for a moment, then looked down at the street, "Shit, there has been a lot of other girls, hasn't there?" he mumbled.
"So maybe you, you know... are falling for Raven."
"What's that mean?" Speedy arched his eyebrow again, bringing the corner of his mask up as well.
"Maybe you're falling in love dude... it's been known to happen." Beast Boy shrugged. Speedy was silent for several moments, then opened his mouth to say something.
An explosion cut him off and both of their heads snapped around to the West. A plume of smoke was rising in the air from beyond the buildings, and screams could be heard below.
"Shit." Speedy jumped up, and just then, his T-Comp started bleeping. Snapping it out, he spoke, "Talk to me, Cy."
"I'm down by the docks, and I've got problems!"
"What kind of problems?"
"Trident kinds of problems! He's got about a million clones of himself tearing apart the loading docks! I need back up!"
"Fuck me." Speedy glanced over at the smoke, then back East towards the docks, "Beast Boy, go help Cy. I'll see what the explosion was and call Raven. We're going to need the girls out here."
"On my way, Cy!" Beast Boy called, and became a hawk. He flew off to the East, and Speedy jumped off the building, firing his grappling arrow off to the West.
Robin and Starfire had just pulled into the Batcave when Robin's T-Comp went off. He pulled in out and heard Raven calling.
"I'm here Raven. What's going on?"
"Jinx and I are hitting the web looking for Slade. Can you do me a favor while you're there and you have access to a much better computer system than I do?"
"What do you need?" he asked as he glanced over at Star. She smiled and waved as she flew to the showers.
"I want to know Slade's real name."
"Check." he reached out and grabbed Star's hand, holding her back for a moment, "I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks. Oh, hey..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you think Speedy likes white?"
"What?" Robin stared at her blankly, "If this has something to do with the white hood-"
"Never mind." Raven got a slight blush in her cheeks, then composed herself quickly, "I'll talk to you when you find that name for me."
"Right. Robin out." he snapped his T-Comp shut and turned to his girlfriend, "The showers are this way."
"The woman's shower is over there, though." she pointed to the door with the bow on the bat symbol.
"Good point. Bruce wont walk in on us in that shower..." Star smiled devilishly as Robin lifted her up off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him as he pushed through the door.
Speedy dove behind a dumpster and rolled to the other side, drawing an arrow in the process. He fired as soon as he was back on his feet, and the shaft flew straight and true...
Glancing harmlessly off of Cinderblock's chest. The gigantic rock-man chuckled and hurled a car at the dumpster.
Speedy jumped away just as the car hit and exploded right behind him. He shouted in pain and frustration as he was blasted almost fifteen yards away. Landing on his left shoulder, he rolled up to his feet and ran full out until he was around a corner.
Cinderblock had made a mess of the intersection at Forth and Main, right in the middle of lunch time traffic. His preferred mode of attack today was throwing cars and trucks, and without busting out the heavy damage arrows, Speedy was having a hard time slowing the brute down.
Yanking out his T-Comp, he spoke into in loudly enough to be heard over the roar of flames and the crunching of metal, "Raven! Come in!"
The four seconds she took to respond felt like hours, "Raven here. Go ahead Speedy."
"Have you two been doing your nails or what?" he shouted, "Check the City Status Reports!"
There was a pause, then Raven started cursing. After a few moments of that, she spoke, "I'm sending Jinx down to help you out, and I'll head over to the park."
"What's going on in the park?" Speedy glanced around his corner, then ducked back as the drive train of a Festiva glanced off the wall next to him.
"Killer Moth has unleashed a horde of gigantic emperor butterflies. They're eating every tree in Westfield Park."
"Shit. Well, if Jinx is all I've got coming, I'm going to have to use a bit more force here."
"Try to minimize property damage, Speedy."
"Will do." Speedy nodded, "Just get her down here as soon as you can."
"She's already left of the R-Cycle."
"Robin's going to be pissed when he finds out she took his bike."
"I've already stolen in since he's been gone. Don't worry about it."
Speedy just chuckled, "Good times, huh?"
"Good times. I'll see you back at the Tower after we clean up the city."
"See you then." They both signed off and Speedy snapped his T-Comp back into his belt pouch. Pulling out a high-powered particle detonation arrow, he strung it and turned the corner. Firing it and blasting the F-150 Cinderblock had thrown at him to pieces, he pulled out a lower powered shock-wave arrow and shot it all in the same motion.
Cinderblock took the arrow to the chest again, but this one blasted him back off his feet. Quick to recover, the gigantic rock-man was back up in just a few seconds. Long enough for Speedy to close in though, and as Cinderblock got back to his feet, the archer's black boot slammed into his head, smashing him back several steps, and making him trip over a car.
"Get here quick Jinx." Speedy growled as his jumped up and kicked at Cinderblock again.
Cyborg hurled another Trident clone back into the sea and turned quickly to slug the one that was sneaking up behind him. As that one went down, a huge green Tyrannosaurs stomped around the corner, chasing several more Tridents as then fled from it's massive jaws.
"Good timing Gar!" Cyborg shouted. He transformed his arm into it's sonic cannon form and started blasting as the Tridents swarmed.
Beast Boy popped up next to him a moment latter, "Jeez, dude! There's got to be like, a billion of him here!"
"We need to hold them off until Speedy and Rae can get here!" Cyborg blasted again, "A little help would be nice!"
"Right, right." Beast Boy rolled his eyes and became an elephant.
Speedy hit the outside wall of Big Daddy's Barber Shop hard, and bounced down to the ground. Landing in a heap of arms and legs in the street, he groaned.
"Got a little too close that time..." he mumbled as he checked himself for injury. Three ribs busted. Not too bad.
"Okay, the gloves come off." Rolling to the side to avoid Cinderblock's fist as it slammed into the sidewalk where his head had just been, Speedy drew out an immolation arrow and jabbed it into the giant rock-man's leg.
Cinderblock looked down at the arrow as Speedy rolled to his feet and dashed away as quickly as he could. The shaft spun around three times, then clicked.
A fireball erupted around Cinderblock and he howled in pain and frustration. Charging out of the inferno, he was met with a wave of pink energy to the face. The giant slipped in a spot of oil slick left over from a car he'd smashed and landed flat out on his back.
Jinx jumped down from the top of the low building across the street from the barber shop and landed next to Speedy, who rubbed his side ruefully.
"Took you long enough." he mumbled.
"Better late than never. Traffic on the West River Bridge is a bitch this time of day."
"Yeah, tell me about it. And there's always some ass-hole who thinks leaning on his horn will make it move faster."
"Uh huh. You hurt bad?"
"Nothing Raven can't heal up latter." Speedy pulled out another arrow, "He's getting up."
"Oh." Jinx turned to see that Cinderblock was indeed standing, though barely. His right leg had something of a crater blown in it, and his whole body looked like he'd walked through a napalm storm. "What the hell did you do to him?"
"Nothing he wont live through." Speedy fired his arrow at the giant's face and the explosion knocked him back a few steps, "Let's take him down."
"I'll go up," Jinx winked at the archer, "if you go down."
"You got it, you randy bitch."
"Grrowwr." Jinx made a clawing motion with her hand and charged at the still recovering Cinderblock. Speedy was behind her in an instant, and as Jinx jumped up, he held his bow out in front of him.
The sorceress's black combat boot slammed into Cinderblock's face, sending him reeling back. Speedy hooked his bow behind the giant's knees and pulled with all his might, pulling his feet out from under him.
Pink energy lanced around Cinderblock as he hit the ground, and the street gave way under him, causing him to hang headfirst, halfway down into the subway. He didn't move.
"Subdued." Jinx nodded from where she stood next to the hole.
"Well done." Speedy nodded and smiled at her, "You're starting to get the hang of this super-hero thing."
"I'm learning from the best in the world." Jinx smiled back and then they turned to greet the SWAT vans that were pulling up.
Killer Moth looked on in dismay as his butterfly army was being wiped out rather quickly by the white clad young woman floating fifty feet off the ground in the middle of the park. The new, prettier generation of his mutant insects bad been a birthday present to Kitty, but now he was wishing (not for the first time) that he'd had more backbone and just told his daughter 'no'.
Raven lazily swung a huge slab of concert around with her powers, using it like a gigantic fly swatter. Four more of the butterflies met a squishy end as it slammed down.
"You know, I like this generation better." Raven smiled as she waved her swatter around again with one hand and blasted several butterflies back with the other, "They're far less aggressive."
"Damnit." Killer Moth reached into his utility belt and pulled out a grappler, which he fired at Raven. The cord wrapped around her ankle while she was busy fending off another wave of butterflies, and he retracted it quickly.
Raven was waiting for him. As he reached out with a tazer to blast her out of the air, her other foot came around and slammed into his face. Losing his grip on the cord, he fell the fifty feet down and landed in a bush.
Sighing, this psion flew down to make sure he was still alive. Finding a pulse and the controller he used to command the butterflies, she stood up with a nod. A quick turn of the dial and the butterflies settled on the grass for a nap, and a quick wave of her hand and Killer Moth was stabilized for the time being.
Pulling out her T-Comp she spoke in to it, "Speedy, Jinx. Report."
"All done here." Speedy replied, "Baddie in custody, and we're headed down to the pier to help Cy and Gar finish up with the Tridents."
"Good. I've taken care of Killer Moth, so I'll meet you two down there in-" Raven was cut off as something slammed into her side, sending her flying across the park and landing in a fountain. Splashing up out of the water, she glared around until her eyes fell on the leather clad body of a man who had a spider for a head.
"Raven!" she looked down at her hand, amazed that she'd managed to keep hold of her T-Comp.
"Fang just showed up. I'll be busy for a little bit longer." Snapping the communicator shut, she put it away and stood up in the knee deep water.
"You know," Fang looked her up and down, "I like the white outfit better."
Raven looked down at herself and noticed that the white showed a bit more when it was soaking wet than the blue had. Blushing she looked back up at Fang, "Well, if you want a piece of this, you're going to have to earn it."
"Right, like I'm going to earn anything from you."
"Red-X did." she purred as she stepped out of the fountain.
"Really? I'll have to ask him about it next time I see him."
"You've never met him, and you know it." she smirked, "He's way out of your league, Fang."
With a howl of rage, Fang spit a stream of paralytic venom at her, and she jumped to the side to avoid it.
Starfire had her back pressed against the wall of the shower, and her legs hooked up over Robin's arms as he pumped into her. She hadn't stopped crying out for the past five minutes as orgasm after orgasm rolled over her.
It was several minutes more before they finished, and then another fifteen before they were done washing each other. After they had dressed, Star looked at her boyfriend fondly as he ran a hand through his hair, having just put some of Babs's hair gel in it.
"Perhaps a nap is in order? Then a quick dinner before we go to meet Harley at the bar tonight?"
"Good idea. I'll see if Alfred can have something ready for us before we head out." Robin smiled back at her and reached out with his right hand. She took it and they walked, hand in hand back out into the Bat-Cave.
As they passed the main computer on the way to the doors that led back up to Wayne Manor, the chair in front of it swiveled around. Bruce sat in the chair, wearing his Batman uniform, minus the cape and cowl.
Robin and Starfire both froze under his glare, and a blush started creeping up both of their necks. "The Bat-Cave is for work and rest, not for your sex games." Both of the teenagers blushed straight to the roots of their hair as Batman continued, "Never again, Dick, or I take away the mask."
At that, Robin straightened up and looked like he was about to say something, but Star put a hand on his arm, "We are both very sorry, Batman."
"Never again." he repeated, "If you're in the mood to work now, Robin, you've been receiving a level one security alert from your team in Jump City for the past half hour."
"What?" Robin dashed up the steps to the computer and hit several keys, bringing up the message. A few key strokes latter and he was looking at the City Status Report from Titan's Tower, "Looks like Slade is making his move."
"Slade?" Batman arched an eyebrow.
"He's... really bad. I'd say Joker bad, just not as insane. And he's good... I've never beat his in a straight fight."
"Not surprising." Batman shrugged, "I've never met him, but I hear he's one of the best martial artists in the world."
"Wait," Robin turned to Batman, "You're heard of Slade?"
Bruce frowned at his protegee, "Yes. He's the best assassin in the world. Or one of the best. David Cain gives him a run for his money."
"David... wait, do you have a file on Slade?" Starfire floated up and joined them as Robin looked hopeful.
"Computer," Batman waited for the blip that signaled the computer had acknowledged him, "bring up the Criminal Record File for Slade Wilson."
The screen was suddenly filled with a list of hits, a picture of Slade, and a string of alias's longer than any Robin had ever seen. Batman spoke without even looking at the screen, "His professional name is Deathstroke The Terminator. British ex-military, ex-MI5. He's never done a job for less than ten million, and he only takes on jobs that will provide a challenge."
"He was hired to destroy Jump City." Robin breathed.
"No..." Starfire shook her head, "His preoccupation has always been with us, the Titans. You especially."
"So he was either contracted to take out the Titans, or to take out me." Robin's eyes narrowed.
"Maybe." Batman shook his head, "He might have been contracted to convert you," Robin's head snapped up and he glared at Bruce, "or he may have been hired to make the Titan's look bad. He's not just an assassin. He's a problem solver." Batman met Robin's glare, "And he's good at it."
"You knew about him being in Jump. You knew he was trying to convert me."
"Yes."
"And you still did nothing?" Robin shouted, gritting his teeth.
"You handled it." Batman had the perfect poker face.
Robin hated him for it. "I'll be upstairs." he said quietly, "Star and I have a lot of work to do tonight."
"I'll stake out the bar and-"
"No." Robin shook his head as he turned his back on Batman, "I don't want your help anymore. I'll handle the Joker case. You do... something else."
"Robin!" Batman shouted after his former side-kick, but Robin kept walking. "Robin!" he shouted again as he stood up.
The door of the elevator that led back up to Wayne manor shut behind Robin, his back still turned to his mentor.
Starfire stood off to the side, her eyes brimming with tears as she witnessed the forming of a rift between father and son.
Closing Notes: It's shorter than it was suppose to be. By about 3000 words or so. I had tons more planned for this chapter, but it's been so long since I updated, and it ended so well here that I just had to post it. I know, you guys mind so much, right? Heh.
Reviewers get cookies!
Heaven's Angel- Although the threesome in Study Lessons is hot, I did not in fact steal it. I think I've mentioned it before, but this whole story is more or less planned out in my head. So right after dying, Raven gets to come back to life. That's just how it had to be for the story to work right. Red X still has a part to play, so the scenes with him had to be done now. Hope you liked this chapter!
Brogrmn- Your feedback after like, every chapter is awesome. The holidays were kinda' crappy for me, since I was sick the whole time, but hey, I'm back up and around now. Thanks for saying I have talent in the adult situations. I try. :)
AmethystAngel89- I aim to please. Hope this chapter lives up to what you've come to expect.
chickiidoo- You don't care if I kill ROBIN? COME ON! Robin is like, the best DC character EVER! 'Cept Jason Todd. He was a punk. But Dick and Tim? Come on!
HYPER CHICK- Still hyper I see. Well, the update wasn't soon, but it came. Better late then never, as Jinx pointed out earlier.
BeautyOfTheRose- I actually kicked around the idea of making Batman Slade in this story, just to screw with poor Robin even more, but decided against it and left Slade as his original comic book self. Deathstroke kicks ass yo.
Hisan- Jinx and Raven are a complicated pair in this story. Very sisterly, yet still attracted to each other. They kind of both realize that a relationship wouldn't work between them. It's like having a crush on your uber hot best friend.
NalaravatheRed- Speedy and Raven would make a good couple, wouldn't they? :) Watch for more Red-X. He's not quite out of the story yet.
Bonekhan313- There you go. Update. I'm also glad you picked up on the underlying humor of the sex scenes and the 'serious' talk that Raven and X had. They were meant to be like that.
Stolen Valkyrie- Thanks for the tips (I DO re-read my stuff! I just don't catch EVERYTHING) and thanks for the praise. It's good to get some real constructive criticism and a pat on the head all in one review. You're awesome, so don't let anyone ever say you're not. One of my best reviewers! :)
NightWish13- Hope this chapter cleared up some of the pairings for you. They were supposed to be unclear up until this point, when I start to settle into the way they'll be for the rest of the story. Sorry about the leg cramp. This chapter was a thousand or so words shorter than the last one, so you should be fine this time. :)
StarryRavenFire- Rock on. Glad you're enjoying it. Raven does seem to get around a lot, doesn't she? As for Harley, expect to see her in the next chapter. I was supposed to get to her in this one, but I decided to post what I had and leave her for later.
Fripi- Red-X's background will be explored a little a later on. I'm settling Raven down soon, and if the foreshadowing in this chapter wasn't enough to tell you who she's gonna' end up with, then next chapter will clear that up. Oh, and longer reviews are better for me. I write long chapters, so long reviews are appropriate. And hey, if you can write decent, just mail me and I'll pitch you some ideas. I've got TONS, and no time to write ALL of them...
Jaina 12- Another chapter for your reading enjoyment. More Robin and Star, and more Speedy, though X didn't make it into this chapter. He'll be back later. Man, everyone likes Red-X...
sick with joy- I think Raven and Red-X will always have a 'thing' but never a real relationship in this story. And hey, what kind of Red-X isn't a baddie? He's a freakin' thief for crying out loud! He's supposed to be bad!
free the trees- Just a little scared? Well, we'll see what we can do about that... :)
ChaosChampion- Sorry about the nasty responses last time... I was feeling punchy that night. :) And as for Slade... watch and learn, friend. I have a talent for turning cliches into something you wouldn't expect. Blackfire wasn't really on my mind for this story, Brother Blood... don't know what happens with him yet, so I don't want to screw up the story line, and Rancid DID make an appearance in this chapter... I'm kind of going to be pulling out every bad guy I can in the next chapter or two, so look for lot's of good cameos and fights! Oh, and if the threesome sex scene was based on real life experience, I'd want my sex life too. Alas, I'm in a committed relationship (seven years!) and only have sex with one girl. The rest of the sex is based on real life experience though, so I can't complain. :)
Greg867- Sorry I haven't gotten back to you yet man. I've been busy. :( But I'm back now, so drop me a line, and I'll get back to you.
rochwen- Couldn't get any better? I still have AT LEAST three or four more chapters to go! Give me some credit here! Finale hasn't even come yet! :) So yeah, X will make his return later, as will his pancakes. Look for more emotion than battle in the next chapter, but I thought this one kicked some ass.
losernerd- You read them both right in a row? Damn. That must have taken a day or so. That's like... um, hold on... 97,535 words now. Almost 100,000! Wow! I write a lot! Keep looking to the LJ's, and review again! I like to hear from all you guys!
That's it for now. Check out my Live Journal for update news and discussion of the story!
Next Chapter: The Titans finish cleaning up Jump City and head home for a night of rest. Robin begins to question his standing with the Dark Knight, even as he and Starfire dive into their hunt for the Joker in earnest. Tim can't keep his nose out of trouble, Cyborg and Sarah are too cute, Jinx and Beast Boy are too funny, Robin and Starfire are in too deep, and Raven and Speedy are way too hot together.