Teen Titans
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The Chronicles of Exile and Pyro

Chapter Three: A Ninja's History, A Knight's Falling

Pyro woke up with a bad feeling the next morning, but he tried to hide it as he got dressed and went down stairs. He was wearing a shirt with a design on the front focusing on the large Swedish Cross. The day seemed to get a little better when, for once, Raven noticed his arrival.

Then again, she might have noticed me because I'm wearing a short sleeve shirt this time, another first since I arrived here. He thought. The few scars on his arms were faded, but still fairly visible to anyone who looked. Also quite visible was the fact his arms were quite muscular. Cyborg was the first to notice.

"Woah! Since when did you have big guns like that?" he asked.

"I dunno, actually," Pyro replied, looking at his arms. "I never really noticed it before."

"And where did you get that shirt?" Cyborg asked.

"I took a detour yesterday. Some store called Hot Topic." Pyro said. Cyborg looked at Raven, then asked,

"Rae, did you have anything to do with this?"

"No." She replied, not looking up from her book. Cyborg looked at Pyro carefully.

"Are you okay? Have any strange feelings recently?" Cy questioned. Pyro gave him a strange look.

"...What? What are you going on about? Can't a guy wear a shirt without interrogation?"

"You've never worn shirts like that before. It was all ways long sleeves, or you wore a duster."

"Ummm, I'm not exactly seeing your point." Pyro said, sounding confused.

"You've been with us for a few months, and the only peices of black clothing you've ever worn was the duster, longcoat, and your shoes. for the past month, you've been starting to wear more black." Cyborg said.

"I see what he means, Pyro. Now you admitted you went to Hot Topic." Robin said.

"I think Pyro's getting Ravenated." BB said. Pyro started coughing, trying to hold back laughter.

"I resent that." She said, giving Beast Boy a look that scared him into submission. At this point, Starfire decided to jump into the conversation.

"Friends! I have overheard your conversation, and what I believe Pyro is doing is one of the five hundred twenty-seven signs of-" She was cut off. While she was talking, she dragged both Pyro and Raven together. Pyro decided to interrupt.

"Starfire! Look, a Trogdor!" he said, pointing in a random direction. She yelped and looked where he pointed, and then Pyro made good his escape.

"There is no trog- ...Pyro?" She asked, looking for him. He was nowhere to be seen. For a period of time, no one said anything. Then Beast Boy remembered something, and went to Exile, sharpening his knives on a small well worn stone.

"Exile! I just remembered something! You said you would tell me where you came from and all that! Wanna tell me now?"

Exile chuckled slightly to himself. He hadn't entirely expected Beast Boy to remember that. He returned the stone to a pocket, and picked up the knives. He held them in his hands, then quickly closed and reopened them. They were gone. "Y'know, I half-expected that to happen…" muttered Beast Boy.

Exile sighed slightly, and adjusted himself in his seat as BB plopped down in a nearby chair. Taking a deep breath, Exile began.

"I was not always like this. Back when I was a small child, I had two loving parents... we were a very happy family. One day, when I was about five years old, we were on a flight to Moscow, I do not remember why. We were over the Vladivostok, and the Siberian mountain chains. Suddenly, the plane shook violently. Something was very wrong. I saw that we were starting to descend, and I simply believed we were landing. Then, my mother grabbed me and held me tight to her body. She was very scared of something, but I had no idea. Others on the plane also began to scream in fear". Exile paused for a second, looking down at his feet. He slightly adjusted the mask covering his eyes. Beast Boy adjusted himself in his seat, but his eyes remained fixed on the ninja. It was hard to hold BB's attention, but Exile sure seemed to be doing a good job so far.

"I looked back outside, and realized we were nowhere near any cities, and we were quite close to the ground. As the plane struck the ground", he paused for a second, "it… cracked. I was torn from my mother, and thrown outside. As luck would have it, I flew into a snowdrift. The plane made this awful scratching, grinding sound as it slid across the ice. I looked up, and could only watch as it slammed into a mountain. Not knowing what else to do, I took some extra clothes from nearby suitcases that were also flung from the plane, put them on for warmth, and just started walking towards the last city I saw. As luck would've had it, I walked along these train tracks, and eventually heard a train behind me. I hid behind a nearby drift and waited for it. Fortunately, the Trans-Siberian train does not run very fast, and I was able to steal aboard a car that stocked grain. Not knowing how long it would be before we arrived, I sustained myself with snow and the grain. The train eventually stopped, and I managed to sneak out.

I walked all over the town. It was a small fishing village on the Vladivostok Peninsula. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to communicate with anyone, since I didn't speak Russian. I lived on whatever I could steal from garbage cans, restaurants, and fishing boats. One day, I attempted to take some fish from a Japanese fisherman. He saw me, and gave chase. I managed to elude him for some time, but he caught up. I struggled with him, yelled at him, but stopped, when he spoke English to me. After I returned the fish to him, he asked what I was doing, as I certainly did not look to be from the area. I told him about the crash, and that I had nowhere to go. He thought for awhile, and said he knew of someone who may be able to help.

He took me to his ship, and we sailed for Japan. It was a long journey, but the fisherman proved a good conversationalist. He told stories of this man we were going to meet as if he were legend. A master of the shadow; invisible to all when he wanted to be. He was able to destroy evil in the blink of an eye. His morals were beyond reproach; good versus evil. He could not be stopped.

Eventually, the ship reached the Japanese coast, and we debarked. It was in the mountains, and our climb began. I asked the man why we did not take many supplies for the trip, but he said our destination was not far. I looked all over the mountains, but could not find any hospitable areas. Still, I trusted and followed the man. After a few hours, we reached a very long set of stone stairs. I could not even see the top. We began our ascent, and eventually came to this modest, yet beautiful house. The man motioned me toward the sliding door, and as I approached, this man… this being… just appeared right in front of me, out of thin air. He was clad completely in black. There was a scarf around his face; he had two shiny metal guards on his shins and a sort of… small metal decoration over the cloth on his forehead. The only visible part of him was his eyes. Naturally, I was quite scared, and stumbled back. The fisherman caught me. He smiled, and told me to wait nearby. I went and sat upon a large rock. The fisherman began a conversation with this man of legend, but in Japanese. After about five minutes, the fisherman returned and kneeled to me. 'This is Master Hattori, the man I told you about. He is impressed with your story, and admires your strength. He said he is willing to take you in and train you in the ways of the shadow', he said. Not seeing anywhere else to turn to, I accepted. The man smiled, wished me luck, and walked back down the stairs.

Master Hattori said nothing, but slid the door open, and waited. I walked inside. I took off my shoes and looked for a place to sleep. He walked to another room and opened that door. It was as if he could tell what I was thinking, without any conversation. Behind the door was a simple bed, which was quite inviting. As I took the extra clothes off, I turned back, and Master was gone. He returned with a bowl of rice, and chopsticks. I sat on the floor, and he showed me how to hold the chopsticks to eat. He was very patient, and guided my hands, showing how to hold them. The rice was bland, but I needed food badly, and gladly ate. I was exhausted, and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, I awoke to find a small, simple black outfit. As I moved to put it on, the man appeared in front of me again. He finally spoke. 'Today, your training begins. You will put everything before this day behind you.' He handed me a mask, similar to this one. 'You will hide your eyes, your consciousness, from all, until I deem you ready.' I put on the mask and clothes, and from that day, we began. For several years, he taught me basic movement, stealth, and balance. We almost never spoke at all, but there was something very reassuring about him. He would tend to my wounds when I was injured, and allow me extra food and rest when I was sick. As the years passed, I became more and more self-sufficient. I was able to spend weeks on end on my own in the mountains.

After spending about 6 or 7 years training with basic maneuvering, Master Hattori took me to another part of Japan, where I met a sword maker. He watched me train on his grounds for some time, and then created a sword specifically for my style, the Alpha Blade. I spent the next seven years training to become a complete warrior. He taught me how to control my weapons as extensions of my own body. He also made sure I learned never to kill unless absolutely necessary.

One morning, I awoke to find him gone. He left this." Exile handed a small parchment to Beast Boy, who was still somewhat frozen in awe from the story. On the parchment was written:

"Exile, I must leave. You may use the dojo as you see fit. Remember… strength and honor."

Beast Boy flipped the parchment over, and found a series of Japanese characters. "Hey, what's this say?" He handed it back to Exile.

"It is the Hattori family mantra. I will explain it another time." Beast Boy's face suddenly looked like that of a child who would have to wait until the next night to hear the last chapter of a Harry Potter book. Exile cracked a slight smile. Just then, Raven and Cyborg entered the living room from opposite ends. Raven had been meditating, and Cyborg was busy waxing the T-Car. Both were looking for a snack.

"Hey, whatcha guys doing?" Cyborg asked Beast Boy and Exile. Raven was also curious, as Exile and Beast Boy seemed to be complete polar opposites. What could have them hanging out? And what did Exile do that had Beast Boy so calm and docile?

"Just catching Exile's life story!" BB replied. Raven perked up, interested.

"Hey, cool! You mind repeating it?" Cyborg asked Exile. Exile nervously shifted, not entirely wanting to tell the whole story all over again. Beast Boy noticed him, and jumped up.

"Hey, I can tell you guys the quick version!" Exile sighed in relief as Beast Boy walked over to the computer and typed in a series of commands. In a minute, a newspaper presented itself on the big screen. The headline read: "FLIGHT 736 CRASHES OVER SIBERIA, 1 YOUNG BOY'S BODY MISSING, PRESUMED DEAD." Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Wait a minute," said Cyborg, "You mean HE'S…"

"Yeah!" replied BB, "That's him!"

"Oh snap!" You gotta be kidding me!" exclaimed Cyborg. Exile simply smiled, stood, and reattached the sheathed weapon to his hip. He calmly walked out of the living room.

After Exile finished telling his story, Pyro went up into his room. Time passed, and soon he found himself siting on his bed. He was holding on to a red and yellow electric guitar, the symbol of the Order on the back of it. He was playing whatevere was coming onto his head. His skill was that of someone who had been playing a long time. Considering he was about forty years old, his skill was exceptional. He started playing a song he quite liked, 'One Last Breath," by Creed. To Pyro, playing his guitar usually helps him get his thoughts in order, but today, it didn't seem to be helping. He could only think of what had happened earlier. They were on to him, and he knew it. It was only a matter of time before the lid would be blown, and he became toast. He didn't realize it, but he began playing "It's Been Awhile," A song by Staind. The song started making him think ofa relationship might become if it ever happened. The key phrase being 'If it ever happened.' And for the first time in nearly thirty years, he began to sing. His voice seemed to change a little bit, and oddly enough, his voice was still pleasing to listen to, even after thirty years of unuse and change. He was interrupted by a knock on the door. He put down his guitar and walked over to the door, and opened it a little bit.

"Yes?"

"Would you mind turning down your amp a little bit?" Raven asked, startling Pyro a little bit on the inside.

"Oh, not at all, I didn't realize it was so loud." Pyro replied.

"It's okay, Im just about to meditate, and they seem to cause a problem with my concentration."

"I see. Sorry to bother you."

"No need to apologize," She said, then added, much to Pyro's suprise, "By the way, try turning the treble up a little bit next time." she finished, then walked away.

Oookay... I think I need to start working on heating up Hell... he thought, as he went to shut off his amp. He adjusted the treble like she said to, then, for no reason, decided to take a nap.

He woke up later, and the bad feeling had intensified. He hardly ever took naps, and when he did, it seemed like something bad happened later. He picked up his revolver and opened it, catching the six rounds. He looked at each one before putting thefour rubber bullets and two regular hollow-point bullets into the cylinder. He carfully rotated it, the holstered it under his tan duster. He pulled out his sawed-off shotgun and opened the breach, letting the regular shells fall out. He dug in his pockets and pulled out a pair of blue shells -beanbag rounds- and put them into the gun, snapping it shut. Then, for the hell of it, he pointed it at an imaginary figure in the wall, and pulled back both hammers.

"You talkin' ta me?"

Pyro pressed a lever and the two hammers fell down, and then he holstered it as well. He walked over to a corner in his room and picked up his sword and placed it over his back. Pyro sometimes wondered to himself what his mother did to allow it to do this, but he never questioned it. The blade and the gun inside have never let him down in a battle, the blade never breaking and the gun never running out of ammo. He punched a button next to his door and it slid open. He walked out and it closed. He want to the living room and saw the others looking over something.

"What's up?" Pyro asked.

"We have a lead on some operation that's supposed to take place at one of the high-tech companies." Robin said.

"Blaine Coporation, to be exact." Cyborg added.

"Would you take Starfire and go check it out?" Robin asked.

"Why not have Raven go with him? I think he might like it better!" Beast boy said. Pyro turned to him with and evil smile and replied,

"Why not you and ME go?" he said through gritted teeth. BB yelped and hid behind Cyborg. No one said anything else on that subject.

"Well?" Robin said.

"Why not?" Pyro replied. "When do we leave?" he added.

"Might wanna go ahead and go, the lead said it should be happening soon."

"Got it. Star, lets ride!" Pyro said, turning to leave.

"Ride? Ride what?" She asked, following him.

When they got outside, Pyro took off quickly, and Starfire chased after him, suprised by his speed. She tried calling out to him, but the words were lost in the roar of Pyro's afterburners.

The two flew together for a while, then Pyro slowed down, and all the noise he was making all but quit.

'Hey, Star!"

"Yes?"

"Ever flown faster than the speed of sound before?"

"I have been in spacecraft traveling faster than the speed of light before."

"Not like that, I mean how we're flying right now."

"Then no, I have not."

"Want to?"

"What of the noise and over flight restrictions the city mandated?"

"We're Teen Titans, remember? Our job may require temporarily disregarding certain rules like that."

"Ohhh, I see."

"So, wanna give it a try?"

"I see no reason not to!" Star said, smiling. Pyro offered her his hands, and they held on to each other.

"Hang on!" Pyro said before suddenly accelerating, the afterburner changing to pulse-detonation, and with a distinctly different sound.

Starfire soon started to feel pressure around her eyes, nose, and mouth, pushing quite hard, pressure continually increasing to the point where she was just about to tell Pyro to slow down, then a loud crack sent her ears ringing, and all of the pressure went away. She looked down, and the city was going by so fast that she couldn't make out anything. They left the city, but quickly turned around back to it. Pyro started to slow down, dropping below the speed of sound, and the familiar pressure returned, but it didn't last long, as it quickly faded back to tolerable levels. The experience may have lasted less that fifteen seconds, but it was one that she would never forget. They arrived at their destination and set down.

"That was most glorious! I wish to thank you for the memorable experience!" She bubbled, hugging him.

"No problem! Robin said it might help if we hung out more, anyway. I seriously am sorry about what happened a month or so ago." Pyro replied.

"Apology accepted!" She said.

"Thank you!" Pyro replied. "I was hoping for a long time you would say that. So, are we cool?

"We are 'chilled' or however you say it!" She said.

"Great! Well then, let's get to work." Pyro said. They went into the building and started looking around. Pyro went around to some of the boxes containing the more valuable objects, and found something: a small object with an 'L' on it. He picked it up, then a voice from within the darkness started laughing. A bright flash enveloped him, and Pyro was forced to turn away for a moment, but looked back at it when his eyes adjusted.

"You cannot deny the greatness that is Dr. Light!" The man said, bathing Pyro in brightness.

"What the...? Weren't you the dude who made Megaman?" Pyro asked, confused.

"Wha..? Fool! Do not mock me!" Dr. Light responded.

"I wasn't mocking you. Just who the hell are you, anyway?" Pyro asked.

"I told you before, I am Dr. Light!" he replied, before attacking him. They fought for a brief period, and it was a bit one ended towards Pyro, until Starfire came to his aid.

"Star! Get the others! I can handle this guy!" Pyro said, taking a stance with his sword. She left, and Pyro charged Light. He easily dodged out of the way.He swung again, and missed, again and again. Pyro soon started to see a pattern, and he swung one more time, hoping that Dr. Light would move to where he expected him to move to. He missed, but immediately swung the sword over his head and behind him. The slash was successful, as he left a nice gash in Dr. Light's clothing.

"My suit!"

"A word of advice; learn to make your dodges unpredictable." Pyro said, unwittingly imitating part of what Dr. Light said to Raven before. The two started fighting for a while, and to the point where Pyro thought he could end it. He sheathed his sword and pulled out his revolver, jump-dodging one of Dr. Light's attacks. He fired two bullets, but Dr. Light somehow evaded them. Pyro fired three more bullets over the course of a few minutes of fighting, and eventually had him cornered. Pyro aimed his gun at him, a smirk on his face.

"Looks like it's lights out for Dr. Light." Pyro said. Dr. Light had a surprised look on his face.

Pyro pulled the trigger.

The hammer fell, setting off the charge, propelling the bullet out of the cartridge, but something went wrong. The bullet was off at an angle, and it lodged itself into the barrel. The explosive charge had nowhere else to go but back.

The gun discharged back into Pyro's face.

Back at the tower, Starfire landed at the front door and rushed inside. "Friends! Pyro has engaged our old enemy Dr. Light in battle!" The others gathered in the main room. Exile was the first to speak up, and caught everyone by surprise with his angered tone of voice.

"Fool! You left a teammate behind! You do NOT leave a brother in arms alone on the battlefield!" Before anyone else could say anything, Exile was out the door and speeding towards Pyro's position.

Starfire looked surprised and saddened. She did not think Pyro was in great danger, but was quite taken aback by Exile's anger. He was so calm and even-mannered, but something really set him off. She turned to Robin with a sad face. "Have I… done wrong?"

Robin reassured her. "No, Exile's training taught him that. A ninja never leaves a comrade behind, dead or alive. He's just making sure Pyro's OK."

Back at the building, Exile arrived to find two bodies, Pyro's and Dr. Light's both slumped in opposite corners of the room. Gunpowder had burned much of Pyro's face, as Exile found the broken pistol nearby. Exile felt for a pulse, and found a faint one. He couldn't feel Pyro's breath, however. He requires medical help immediately, he thought. I must get him home. Dr. Light groaned as he regained consciousness. "You are lucky," Exile told the stunned villain, "that Pyro requires assistance. I shall deal with you later…" With that, Exile slung Pyro's body over his shoulder, collected the weapon, and tore off for the tower. Dr. Light gathered himself up and retreated to his hideout, wondering who the mysterious warrior was.

At Titans Tower, the others prepared to head for the garage to take the T-Car out in support of Pyro and Exile. Before they could head downstairs, the front door burst open. "Pyro's down!" Raven quickly created a flat black stretcher, and Exile laid Pyro's body on it. "He is not breathing, but has a heartbeat. I suggest you quickly move him to the infirmary." Starfire was immediately overwhelmed with guilt, and it showed. Exile walked over to her. "It is not your fault. Pyro's weapon backfired on him. For now, let us simply see to Pyro's health."

Raven was rushing Pyro to the infirmary, with the others in tow. When they arrived, and Raven levitated Pyro's limp form onto one of the beds. Several scanners went over him immediately, going over the powder burn, his heart and lung activity. Raven used her power to try and treat the problem in his lungs, and just after it was cleared, an alarm blared, signifying that Pyro's heart had stopped. Starfire gasped in horror.

Oh no... If only I had not left, then friend Pyro might not be suffering so... She thought.

"Everyone stand back!" Raven commanded. The others complied, and she placed her hands on both sides of Pyro's chest. A small part of her noticed how strange it felt, his chest felt rough under the fabric. Some dark energy surrounded her hands, then it flashed into something resembling lightning. Pyro's body arched, and the alarms kept on, their sad song unhindered. She tried several more times, with no success.

The fifth time, a feint heartbeat returned. Raven sighed in relief, then looked toward the others. Cyborg looked down at his watch, then back at Raven and shook his head.

"Three and a half minutes." He said. Robin had crossed his arms over his chest and was leaning against the wall. Starfire was trying to hold back tears, and Beast Boy was pacing the floor, trying to think of other things. He knew better than to even try and jest. If Exile was close to loosing it, he didn't show it. He looked concerned for Pyro, but nothing more.

"Let's let him rest for now. I'll keep on eye on him until he wakes up." Raven said

"What if he doesn't wake up for a few days?" BB asked.

"I'll check on him periodically." She replied, not missing a beat. Little did she know that, in a way, she never left him. Even though Pyro may have been dead long enough to cause permanent damage in humans, he could still dream. While his brain focused on repairing itself, it dedicated an unused portion for dreaming. One of the few things he was secretly proud of was the fact that his dreams had always been free of perversion, unlike most others he knew. Even though his body was going through the final stages of the human equivalent of puberty, his dreams had always been clean. Even now, it mostly consisted of something romantic at the most.

Despite the temporary loss of a valuable team member, The Teen Titans continued to fight the good fight, sometimes overly easy, and once, barely surviving. Exile seemed to have proven his worth in every fight, only using the force necessary to win without killing. His control seemed to amaze everyone, never losing his cool.

Meanwhile, Dr. Light was inadvertently copying a tactic Slade frequently used. Several spy cameras were positioned around the city, each one watching the Titans fight from different angles. He studied Exile's moves and fighting technique. He even backtracked into his archives and found a few he had forgotten about that were recorded a while after Pyro joined the team. Dr. Light did research on both Pyro and Exile, learning their moves and how often they were used, and finding ways to counter them. He had a hard time trying to find ways to counter some of Exile's moves, as he seemed to focus on speed and stealth, one of which Dr. Light used quite efficiently.

While Pyro seemed fairly calm and level headed normally, he became quite rash and unthinking during combat, which Dr. Light found easy to take advantage of. He found ways to counter every attack he saw Pyro pull off, his sword and gun attacks, his attacks with fire, everything. Dr. Light even created a Lightsaber to fight him with. He knew of Star Wars, and it was surprisingly easy to make a copy of. The only thing he could not do was change the color.

It took a great amount of his intelligence to find ways to combat Exile, and most of it involved ways to move even faster than him. Some of it consisted of dodges and ways to duplicate himself, attempting to deceive him and creating a weakness. Little did Dr. Light know the extent of what Exile could do. He thought Exile gave it his all in every fight, no matter the circumstances. Perhaps he could take advantage of that, along with his seemingly imperturbable loyalty.

Time passed, and Dr. Light continued with his research… it would take him some time to prepare.