Disclaimer:
Disclaimer: Hey, I actually own something: That Oriental guy. Other than that, nothing else. Well, maybe the police officer…not really.
(Begin fic)
This is a story.
It is a story of many people of many things, connected together by that inescapable force that some call destiny.
Let us focus on the story of one boy.
"Get back here kid!"
A little boy, brown hair, green eyes, ran from the bakery, baguette in hand.
The proprietor, always hating any shoplifters, ran after him, screaming, "Stop, thief!"
He was one of the many who live on the streets… but he had no family, no group of individuals to come to when he needed aid.
If he did have a family, all they left was his name… and names can always be changed.
With expert precision, Green-eyes leapt atop and trashcan and somersaulted into a broken window in an abandoned building.
The proprietor, out of breath, could only raise his fist at the window.
Survival is something almost all being know instinctively. Even then, the boy had a talent for it.
It was not merely a talent of skill, however. Fate seemed to take a genuine interest in the boy.
He picked the wrong people to steal from. How was he supposed to know they were from the Mafia?
The three gunmen glared.
"Ya made a big mistake kid. We don like it when people steal from us."
"It was already stolen," the boy snapped back.
One man chuckled. "Oh look boys, a genuine little Robin Hood! Robbing from the rich to give to himself! Hilarious."
The other man was still not amused. "I think this kid has a big mouth."
"Yeah. Les blow it off."
Green-eyes gulped as they aimed their weapons. He closed his eyes.
WHUMP WHAM CRACK
The sounds were not what he expected.
Opening his eyes, he saw all three men unconscious, various cuts and bruises visible on their face.
One the other side was his savior, a man in a gray suit and hat. The clothes were in fact striped with horizontal black lines.
From under the hat, Oriental eyes peered out at the boy.
And the man smiled.
He was rescued by a former mercenary, an assassin who renounced his art. Though he swore not to take another life, there were many who still wanted his. So he was on the run, playing the survival game.
And he took the boy in as a student, perhaps recognizing a bit of himself in the child. His teachings had a profound development on the boy's growth, and outlook on life.
The man nodded.
The boy slipped into the bakery.
Minutes passed.
No sounds were heard.
The boy came out with a decorated cookie basket, fresh from the display counter.
No-one saw him in the store.
He learned that material things were in some ways silly, as they can easily be taken away. But he also gave a profound respect on life. Not just his own, but the lives of others.
The killer loomed over his next victim. A young girl of ten.
"It only hurtssss for a moment."
He raised his knife, almost covered in dry bloodstains.
And suddenly, his other arm was grabbed by a pair of hands, and the killer himself was flung to the ground, his knife dropped.
Green-eyes turned to the girl, and smiled a confident warm smile. She ran away.
The boy moved to the killer, whose eyes went from anger to fright as he saw his own knife in the boy's hand.
The boy held it against the man's throat—not cutting it, but near enough to the skin for both of them to know that if the killer made a single motion, he would die.
They stayed that way for minutes, the boy's hard green eyes never leaving the crazy man's.
Abruptly, he threw the knife away in another direction and leapt out of site.
The killer slowly got up, a dazed look in his eyes. He bent over to pick up his knife.
When he got back up, a pair of policemen had their pistols raised at him.
From atop a building, the Oriental man looked at his young protégé.
Green-eyes smiled.
For a time, he lived life as best he could. And indeed, he was happy.
And yet it did not last…
"Finally tracked you down, Omo-san."
The Oriental man moved the boy behind him, shielding him from the men.
There were about ten of them, all heavily armed.
"You should have stayed in the job y'know. No-one's ever really left it without dying."
"I found the 'job' was not to my liking." The Asian accent was prevalent in his voice.
"I don't think that's a valid excuse." The assassins prepared their weapons.
Green-eyes quickly leapt out, already in fighting stance.
"Run," said the master.
"But—sensei…"
The gunmen all aimed their weapons towards the boy.
"Tell you what, pal. Let's make a deal. If you come quietly, we'll let the boy live."
The boy's breath caught in his throat.
"One condition. You must let him run."
The boy turned to him in shock. "Sensei!"
"Do I need to repeat myself? Go! Run!"
He ran.
He ran and kept running. Even when he heard the shot. Even when everything in his vision turned blurry.
Tears spilled from his eyes, and for a second, he thought the entire world turned red.
There is one fundamental similarity between a modern hero and a villain. Both had a momentous change in their life that hurt them horribly.
And then they are left with a choice. Either to spread their pain to all things, or to prevent others from suffering the same fate they had. Only the second choice makes a hero.
But this boy couldn't choose. Even as he ran away from his master, he ran away from his choice. He took a middle road right in between the lines. The vestibule, where he was neither in one place or the other.
He took a look at his findings. Priceless gems. Beautiful diamonds.
He would only keep enough to go on for the next few days, with some extra in case of an emergency. The rest he threw away, like so much trash.
He forgot some of his mentor's teachings. Others he remembered. He was no killer, but a common thief. Not a hero, but not a true villain either.
But he could not keep running away from his the decision he would soon have to make.
And that choice came screaming at him when he pulled off the most daring heist of all…
Present Day.
Jump City Museum.
"Are the Titans here yet?"
The Jump City police were some of the oddest ones. Their uniforms were futuristic, a result of all the extraordinary criminal activities in the area. Instead of guns, they had stun lasers, a technological marvel that fired blasts of incapacitating electricity.
Though they were the men in white armor with the red visors instead of the men in blue, they were still well respected in the city.
They were currently just outside a police blockade, some of them directing traffic, some of them herding away people. Others were pointing their arms toward the museum entrance.
The interesting thing about the Jump City police was that their uniforms were indistinguishable. With the computer readouts in their visors, they could tell who's who, but no-one else could. It was a safety measure of sorts, especially in the case of the leader. It's amazing how damaged a squad can be when its leader is gone.
Speaking of squads…
Jump City's local superhuman squad, the Teen Titans, entered the scene.
Robin quickly walked over to the men by the blockade. He spoke to one of them.
"What's the problem, Commissioner Slack?"
"Blast it, Robin, how can you always tell?"
Robin only smiled.
The commissioner sighed. "The people thought it was an outage at first. Then they all ran screaming, thinking there was a fire. Then we get reports of men with laser rifles."
"Any casualties?"
"A few wounded, but they'll all be fine. My guess is whoever's in there just wants the people out."
"And what do you need us for? This might not be a metahuman attack."
From underneath his helmet, Commissioner Slack smiled.
"There are a lot of valuables in there. The more people we send in, the more we run the risk of breaking something irreplaceable. You're a smaller group. And probably a tad more effective. Just tell your team to be careful."
Robin nodded.
T-T-T-T-T-T
"Did we really have to stop at Jump City, Brigit? We could have just gone to San Diego."
"Yelling won't get us out of here, Kyle."
A young couple was stumbling through the darkened museum. The man had brown eyes and hair. The woman's hair was more of a reddish brown, and her eyes were green.
"It's your family."
"It'll be yours too!"
"Ahem."
The two of them turned around. Standing before them were the Teen Titans.
"You two okay?" asked Robin.
"Well, we're sort of lost." The woman smiled sheepishly.
"Beast Boy?"
"I'm on it." In a few seconds, he turned into a green horse. Starfire and Cyborg quickly helped the couple get on. Beast Boy took off with a gallop.
"Okay team, we split up. Cyborg, you stay here until Beast Boy gets back so he knows what to do."
"Why me? Why not Raven?"
Robin glared at the metal man. "Do I really need to answer that?"
"Heh… good point."
The girl in question raised an eyebrow, her mouth slightly curved. "That was actually more threatening than what I was going to do."
"We must go," chirped Starfire. "Who knows what the horrible intruder or intruders could be doing to this place containing old artifacts of historical importance!"
T-T-T-T-T-T
In the dark, Robin snuck around a statue, vaulted over a glass case, and spotted a shadow with a blue sapphire in his hand.
"Freeze!"
The intruder looked around. Raising one hand in the air, he leaned over and gently put the gem on the ground.
The next instant, Robin was thrown to the ground.
He got up, shook his head, and stared with some amazement at the person before him.
"X! Red X!"
"Glad you remember me, chuckles."
Indeed, there he was; skull mask, black clothes, and the namesake symbol on his costume.
Or Robin's costume, as it once was.
"The belt… how did you…?"
"Made a new one," answered Red X. "I took a good look at it after I found it. New power source too. More stable and longer lasting. No worries about wrecking the city, huh kid?"
"What new power source?" Robin spat.
"I'm not telling you!" He leapt with a backflip and fired a pair of sticky X projectiles at his opponent.
Robin leapt over them, aiming for a kick with his steel toed boot.
Red X warped sideways, away from the attack, and then rolled back and picked up the sapphire.
"Lighten up, kid. I'm just getting this for a friend of mine."
"Yeah," spat Robin, "a friend who would pay for it."
Red X waved his arms. "Seriously! She has this big jewel collection somewhere! It's a gift."
"Well then buy a gift for your girlfriend then."
"She's not my girlfriend, chuck…"
He was interrupted by the silent sound of movement.
Both figures became perfectly still as they attempted to utilize their spatial senses to know who else was there.
Immediately, the lights turned on, as a familiar figure came into view.
"Well… this is somewhat unexpected," murmured Slade.
Both combatants stopped; Red X in a bit of shock, Robin in an attempt to sort out the fact that he was fighting his two most powerful opponents simultaneously.
Slade's one eye turned to the former. "So it's true. There is a new Red X. Even when I saw him, I had my suspicions." The eye turned to Robin. "I suppose you are familiar with the concept of karma? It certainly seems to be present here in this exquisite irony."
The karmic irony in question immediately teleported away, and then suddenly warped back in with a flash, sliding across the ground.
The ring of Slade's robots, in the shadows, now came into the light.
X got up, jolted a bit from the attack, as was wont to happen in such circumstances. "Look, can't you just let me go here? If you let me keep the sapphire, I'll go."
"I'm afraid, Mr. Red X, that is completely impossible, and I'm sure Robin would agree." He turned to the boy.
"The way I see it," spat Robin, "you're both going to jail."
"Patience, Robin."
He charged.
T-T-T-T-T-T
Raven was not having a good day.
Granted, she was not having many good days lately, but this still was just bad.
The Slade-bots promptly ambushed her when she was alone, and they did not seem to be stopping, despite black bolts and shadowy darts.
No thrown objects, of course, since this was a museum.
Attempts to communicate with the others via communicator failed. As always, Slade thought of mostly everything.
Cyborg and a green velociraptor came barging in, carefully breaking robots to pieces.
They utterly seemed to ignore them, continuously focusing on Raven.
Definitely not a good day.
'Where are Robin and Starfire?'
T-T-T-T-T-T
The former was currently attempting to extract himself from a potentially dangerous situation.
On the one hand (literally!) was Slade. On the other was Red X.
Teleportation, birdrangs, punches, and the occasional robotic computer chip marked the three-way battle.
Red X dodged a birdarang and performed a quick series of blows on Slade.
"Hmm…" Slade murmured. "Have we met? Your style is so familiar…" he pointed a finger at Robin. "That's how I recognized him in your costume."
X chuckled even as he dodged a pair of robots. "I keep telling him he takes life way too seriously."
Robin growled.
He parried a kick from Red X, dodged a robot's punch, landed a kick of his own on Slade's chest…
And his boot broke right through it.
Getting back to a standing position, Robin gaped with his mouth at the large crackling hole he just put into a robotic decoy.
The eye narrowed, and then the robot fell.
"Well then…" muttered Red X, "that was…odd."
"No," hissed Robin. "This is a trap."
"Quick as always."
This time the real Slade marched forward, holding an unconscious person slung over his shoulder.
A red-haired, orange-skinned, purple-clothes-wearing person.
"Starfire!"
Even as he ran forward, Slade moved with superhuman speed and got out a device.
FLASH!
"Gahh…" muttered Robin, blinded, "not again."
Red X responded by tripping over the Boy Wonder.
"Oof!"
"Get off!" Robin's vision cleared, and—as expected—Slade and Starfire were gone.
Even before Red X could push his belt, Robin had already grabbed both of his wrists and hoisted him upwards.
"This is your entire fault! If you hadn't bothered to steal a gift for your made-up girlfriend…"
"I told you, she's not my girlfriend!" Red X promptly kicked him in the stomach and flipped away.
Robin quickly recovered and lunged.
X vanished. In the next instant Robin's hands were suddenly grabbed and locked behind him by the thief's own.
"Calm down, kid. It's not like anger can get her back."
This time Robin delivered the kick, which—as you can imagine, from a steel-toed boot—hurt pretty hard.
"You just can't care about ANYTHING other than yourself, don't you X? Let me guess, your girlfriend's a fence?"
"She's not my…" X shook his head. "As a matter of fact, I can care about other people!"
"Prove it!"
"Fine! I'll find her before you do!"
And he promptly vanished.
Titans Tower
Cyborg just shook his head
It wasn't a good day for anyone involved.
He looked at brooding, working, Robin at the computer, nervous Beast Boy next to him, and emotionless Raven. And Starfire… wasn't there.
He was mostly concerned about Raven. The metal man had a feeling that Starfire would pull through it all right—for all her innocence, she was a tough girl.
But Raven…
There was a small mark on her cheek. A bruise that didn't seem to heal.
It was a tiny thing, only noticeable by his advanced optics, but for him it seemed to be the thing that summarized what happened before…
Since that bruise, Raven seemed to suffer a relapse in emotion. She retreated into her room longer, and her countenance became more flat and solemn, similar to when they first met.
Of course, who could blame her? But he didn't want anything worse to happen.
And Starfire being captured by Slade of all people was definitely worse.
"He deactivated her communicator, needless to say." Robin's voice broke into his thoughts. Of course Robin would be the one leading the search—the bond he had with Starfire was deep.
He slammed his fists on the keyboard. "Blast it, where did he take her? And WHY?"
A signal promptly appeared on the Jump City computerized map, a yellow dot.
"Check all the frequencies, chuckles."
They turned to find Red X behind them, as if he popped into the room out of nowhere.
He didn't, technically, but it looked like it.
Robin promptly drew his Bo staff. "How did you get in here?"
X chuckled. "Same way as I did last time kid. 'Course, it was easier with the suit."
There was stillness for a moment, as Robin debated whether to fight X there and then.
The thief broke the silence. "It's a trap, y'know. I already checked out the place. Robots everywhere. And they're all waiting for you. Personally, I would recommend the three others as a distraction while you and I sneak in to—"
"What makes you think I'd let you help?"
Robin swore he saw a smile under that mask.
"Well, kid, first, you owe me for saving your life. Second, you need an extra person. I'd imagine you can't go far alone… and if Slade's the genius I've heard he is, he probably wants you to do that. You need someone else who can get in undetected. Someone like me." He pointed to himself.
"Like I'd even trust you," Robin spat.
"Well then, chuckles, I guess I get to save the damsel in…"
He was interrupted as Raven—her face betraying zero emotion—flew close to him.
They stared at each other for a few moments.
Then she promptly reached out and grabbed his arm.
X felt a momentary wave of shock, followed the input that her hands were cold. Very cold.
She just as quickly let go and turned around. X rubbed the cold spot until she spoke four words—the only words he heard her speak that day.
"She's not his girlfriend."
Red X paused in mid-rub, as Robin blinked.
"… Okay… you can come," stumbled Robin in his words. "Don't expect this to—"
"—change anything?" Red X raised out his hands. "I wouldn't even think about it."
He found many things on his path. But there were two that stood out, things that brought him closer to the paths he was running from.
The first was the girl. Though he would never admit it, the two were close. She never saw under the physical mask—not a skull in those days, but a regular ski-mask—but she saw under the emotional one.
In return, she let the boy see her true emotional face—a lost girl looking for companionship and a sibling, in either order.
But in the back of his mind he knew—he knew that being with the girl brought him closer to one of the paths—which one, he couldn't say, but he didn't like it, either way.
So he tried to get away from her, but even then some part of him still wanted to see her, and so he did keep in touch.
Still, he made his path through the grassy vestibule, heedless of any dangers as he cut out his own path through the underbrush.
And he came upon a powerful weapon.
It was a suit. Created by another boy who took a bird as his symbol—who walked the path of a hero—but that path had many twists and turns, and the path he walked was—at the time—very close to the path of evil.
And in a fog, the boy, who took a bird as his symbol, entered a gray area between the paths and created the suit, and left it there.
And this boy, who was also in a gray area (though he did not know it; indeed, he thought everything was very colorful), happened across the abandoned device.
And the moment he put it on, he started to have trouble staying in the vestibule. And this time he wasn't aware of it, even as he was running headlong towards his fate.
His fate being, of course, to choose what it would be.
Later…
"Why is it always an abandoned warehouse? It's just so cliché."
Now, had this been a better day, someone, most likely Raven, would most likely respond to Beast Boy's futile attempt at enlivening the mood with a sarcastic comment; something like "Cliché? I'm surprised you even know the word."
As you know, this wasn't a good day. The ensuing silence from all parties convinced Beast Boy it was best to stay silent.
It was an abandoned warehouse, of course; sitting near a forest, next to some gray boulders.
Beast Boy sniffed the air. A quick look around confirmed his suspicions.
"This is right near the place where Slade made that giant fire monster."
The only response was from Robin, who nodded.
Beast Boy looked up at the nighttime sky.
It was purple, something that seemed to fill him with a melancholy feeling.
'Purple sky at night…'
"Stop."
They all did.
Robin stared at Red X, who gave the message. "Where are the guards?" he said simply.
X responded by throwing a small, sharp, red projectile.
The ground seemed to turn into mud and caught it in mid air.
Plasmus formed himself, giving an inhuman squeal, figuring that it was appropriate.
"Titans…"
Robin was cut off by the gray boulders flying at him, knocking him to the ground, and reshaping as strong, silent, Cinderblock.
Cyborg immediately pushed Raven and Beast Boy away from where they were standing as his sensors detected electric impulses in the ground. Overload came up where they were.
"We expected you."
Robin quickly got up and threw a smokescreen.
Immediately, he felt Red X grab his arm.
"Time to run, kid."
He hit the belt.
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down to a crawl. Robin looked up at the sky, and the air itself seemed to solidify.
There was no more time to look as Red X, still holding him, started to run.
For a second, Robin wasn't sure whether he was being led on the ground or in the air.
Red X ran like it was the only thing he ever did in his lifetime. Run.
And then they were in. The outside turned into darkness, and then familiar metal gears.
X touched the belt again. Time turned back.
Robin tried to catch his breath, his legs wanting to collapse. Still, he held his ground.
"You did this before, kid." Red X quipped. "You should know the strain it puts."
"I'm fine," Robin spat in reply. Indeed he was; his strength returning.
"Then let's go. Cutie's waiting."
For a few second, Robin thought of saying something along the lines of, "What about your girlfriend?" then decided against it.
T-T-T-T-T-T
They hid in the shadows.
In the warehouse, there were stairs down, leading to who-knew-where. They avoided the few guards.
Of course, Robin wasn't fooled. At all. Those guards were only there to make it look like Slade didn't want them there. Typical.
Silence.
They dropped down a door in the floor leading to a large underground cavern.
They crept forward a bit.
And the place lit up with white light.
Above the opening to the next area, a large screen reveled itself, and Slade's image appeared on it.
"I was expecting this," muttered Robin.
"I had no doubt you were." Slade's voice reverberated through the room.
"Where's Starfire?" Robin knew there was no point in asking, but he did anyway.
"It's not her you have to worry about," Slade cryptically replied.
Silence.
"So what d'ya think he'll do?" Red X quietly asked, without even turning his head.
The image suddenly affixed the skull mask with his eye. "I just remembered why your style was so familiar."
"Yeah?" X crossed his arms. "Were you in disguise when we met? 'Cause I think I would recognize that mask anywhere."
Slade chuckled. "No, we never met. But I believe we have our…mutual acquaintances?"
"Like who?
Out of the opening walked a man.
Simple black shoes. Simple gray suit, with simple rimmed hat of the same color, all covered in simple black stripes. Simple Oriental eyes.
And Red X simply looked like he was going to collapse.
Slade's comment was simple. "I believe this is your teacher." The screen promptly turned off.
X could only stare at the figure that-against all possibility- stood before him.
The man only stared at them blankly.
"…This is my battle, kid. Save her."
"But…"
"My master, your girlfriend. GO!"
This time, Robin couldn't have made a proper comeback.
He left the room.
T-T-T-T-T-T
Three-on-three.
Shadows flew. Energy arced. Bodies rammed each other.
Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy pushed the monsters ahead of them. They gradually gave up ground.
Not a single one of the three noticed the tiny dots in the ground.
They looked like black spots... they were supposed to.
From his view screen in the base, Slade waited for all of them to step on the booby trap.
Since two of the Titans could fly, Plasmus had to assist them. Eventually, Slade saw the Titans get up.
And then he pushed a button on his console.
The Titans bodies' seized up as the electricity pumped through their systems; then fell down.
The current was measured so that it would create unconsciousness, not death. He needed them alive for his… test.
"Are you sure this is wise, Wilson?" Wintergreen's British voice came from behind him.
After making sure the Titans were being properly moved to the other entrance, he turned to his butler… and friend.
"In what way, Wintergreen?"
It was a habit they had for years, to call each other by their last names.
"I know you have issues with the boy… but isn't this a little too elaborate? Your attempt to kill two birds… no, three birds with one stone may result in killing no-one."
"I have not yet decided whether or not to eliminate the girl."
"You know that she is the key to whatever is being planned, even now."
"And I have not decided as to whether the threat is genuine, or delusions of madness by crazed fanatics." There was a firmness to his tone, one that basically said the discussion was over.
Wintergreen pressed on. Indeed, he was perhaps the only person who could do so and not fear retribution. "You can't say you don't believe in these things, Wilson. You've even dabbled in a bit of the occult yourself."
Slade nodded. "Yes, Wintergreen, you are correct. I do believe in such things… but I prefer to hold judgment until all other explanations are proven wrong." He turned to the screen again. "They know who I am, Wintergreen. If I am too direct in my actions, they may be forced to retaliate."
"Better a legion of fanatics than…" Wintergreen trailed off.
"Maybe. But… quite frankly, Wintergreen, I am not being skeptical. I am just hoping it is not true. I think you agree that… what they desire is not something you want to believe is true. Because it would be very disastrous if it was."
"Agreed, Wilson. But what about the thief?"
"An experiment, Wintergreen. An experiment. What will the boy's reaction be? Very intriguing…" Red X's battle was still being taped and recorded. He turned to Robin's image, fighting an onslaught of robots, designed only to delay him.
Slade walked away. "I will be with the new captives. I recommend you leave."
"At once."
T-T-T-T-T-T
Red X only watched him go out of a corner of one eye. Everything else was trained on the man who taught him… almost everything.
Images came to him, unbidden…
T-T-T-T-T-T
Green-eyes ran straight at him, fists flying.
The master merely grabbed his fist in mid air.
"Your strength is your speed, my pupil, but you show your intent too easily."
T-T-T-T-T-T
"Omo-sensei…" he muttered. "What are you doing here?"
The Oriental man smiled.
And within seconds…
T-T-T-T-T-T
…he was quickly behind green-eyes, lifting him in the air, the boy's arms grabbed behind him.
"You need to learn stealth. Not just in your actions, but also in your intent. You must strike when least expected."
T-T-T-T-T-T
Red X quickly pushed away at the hands, leapt off his mentor's body into the air, backflipped, and landed.
"Sensei… why are you doing this?"
The Oriental man kept smiling. He charged again.
T-T-T-T-T-T
This time Green-eyes dodged the attack.
He then lashed out with one of his own. A few connected.
A fist promptly sent the boy on his back.
"Do not focus on just attacking or dodging. Focus upon both at once, so that you can strike without being struck."
T-T-T-T-T-T
He leapt up in seconds, and delivered a flying kick.
The Oriental man quickly blocked and delivered a punch of his own.
X landed a few feet away, rolling into an assault position.
"Omo-sensei…" he whispered. "Why?"
The Oriental man's smile turned into a deep frown.
His voice was almost like the air: "You have failed me as a student."
Red X took a step back. "…How?"
"You did not help me in my time of need. You let me die."
"You told me to run, Omo-sensei."
"I did not. You ran on your own. You ran like an honorless coward."
"You told me to run." His voice was more firm.
"You ran away. And you did not even go back. You acted like a coward, and so you live like one, slinking in the shadows." X's fists clenched. "You would not even avenge my death. I should never have raised you from the muck where you came from. You are even fouler than it is."
And then X screamed, for the world to hear, his vision all crimson.
"YOU TOLD ME TO RUN!"
In one moment he was gone.
In the next moment, he was in front of the ex-assassin, and in the next, two razor-sharp Xs ran through him.
T-T-T-T-T-T
"I was a killer once. It is a job filled with disgrace. Life is beautiful, and must be protected. Kill only if it is to survive, or to save another."
T-T-T-T-T-T
The red cleared. And Red X just realized what he did.
"Sensei… oh, sensei… what have I done? I've failed you…"
Then he heard the crackling.
He promptly took out his blades. Wires and circuitry.
A robot. Simply a talking robot.
The anger came back in an even greater force.
"RAAHHHH!"
He set the blades spinning and tore through the robot's skin.
T-T-T-T-T-T
"So, Robin, you finally show up."
Robin fought his way through the complex. And now, he faced the criminal himself, standing several yards away from him.
"Where's Starfire?" He advanced forward.
"Be careful, Robin." A giant red beam sprang down from the ceiling, blocking his path.
And suddenly, two lights came on, revealing two long black holes in the ground, very far apart from each other.
Above one was an unconscious Starfire.
Above the other were the rest of his friends. Also unconscious.
'A trap!'
"Yes, Robin, a trap. Cross that line and both cages fall into a lovely little death pit, that's better imagined than described."
"What do you want?" Robin hissed.
Slade chuckled. "Consider this a quiz, Robin. They are too far apart to save them all. Who do you save? Your three best friends? Or your girlfriend? I am immensely curious in your answer."
'She's not my girlfriend, Slade.'
"Take as long as you want, Robin. Although, if you want to save anyone, I recommend not leaving."
Robin looked straight at Slade.
Then he turned to the cages.
'I can't betray Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy.
'I can't betray Starfire…
'What would you do, Bruce?'
"Save the girl, kid."
Red X popped out behind him. His voice seemed to have lost its jovial tone.
Slade's eye opened wide as Red X activated the belt.
Time slowed down to a crawl for Red X as he crossed the line. He ran to the three Titans, and, ignoring the strain, cut all three loose and put them on the ground, one at a time.
And time then returned to normal. The rope around Starfire loosened, and she fell.
Robin pulled out his grappling hook and shot to the wall behind Starfire. He grabbed her in mid air.
Slade looked as Robin landed, his eye showing annoyance.
Only his reflexes let him block X's bladed punch, coming from his proverbial blind spot.
"YAHHHHH!"
CLANG! Metal struck metal.
Red X seemed to vanish.
In his slowed time-frame, he struck again.
And Slade blocked. And countered, knocking him back into normal reality and out of the room. Slade was metahuman, after all.
Slade dashed into the dark area and looked around him, getting out his Bo staff.
He blocked the spinning blade with it as Red X appeared out of thin air. Before he could counter, X vanished.
Silence.
X appeared to the right of him. Another block. Another disappearance.
This time, Slade jabbed his staff behind him.
"Oof!" X was sent sprawling. He got up in seconds.
"You one-eyed freak!" He spat.
"My, aren't we angry."
"How did you know him? How did you know me?"
Slade chuckled. "I told you, we never met. But I know of Omotegenkan. In the line of work I used to have, it was hard not to."
Slade's eye looked upward a bit, almost reminiscing. "He was one of the greatest assassins I had ever heard of. Once I actually desired to match my wits with him… before he revealed himself to be a fool."
"Omotegenkan was no fool!"
"He gave up his old life. Every assassin knows that to give up the art of killing means death. He was even foolish enough to take someone in as his apprentice. I can only imagine the uselessness of the techniques taught to you."
Red X charged with a cry and leapt with a kick. Slade dodged.
His voice purred from the shadows. "I personally half-thought that robot would remove you from this place by the mere sight of him alone. But you certainly have more backbone than he does. I have heard he could sometimes be very cold. Did you enjoy fighting him?"
"I HATED IT!"
He threw red X projectiles everywhere, anywhere, in some hope of quenching that diabolical voice.
WHUMP! Slade slammed down on his head with the staff. X promptly fell to the ground.
His vision blurry, he looked up at Slade, his staff raised.
"You have failed him, you know. If you really were his student, you would kill off his murderers."
"Life is precious."
Slade laughed, his eye never leaving X. "Here's a secret. When I was your age, I thought so too."
In the few moments when the staff went backwards…
T-T-T-T-T-T
…it was a vision.
He was walking along a grassy field. The grass rose over his head. Even so, he was aware of a pair of paths.
Paths he dared not go on.
He felt safe in the grass. On the paths, you were out in the open.
But this time, he saw that a section of the grass was cleared for him.
And when he went to it, he saw that the bushes would soon turn into a path of a rainbow.
But something was wrong. The colors were too bright. The road seemed to fade in and out. The boy rubbed his green eyes.
The road of madness always looks beautiful when you take the first step. What Green-eyes saw was its true shape, that is only revealed to those too far gone to care…or so far gone that they prefer it better. A living nightmare, which intersected with the wicked path.
And Slade was on it, looking down at him with his one eye.
"Come on, kid, it's where you were headed."
"NO!"
But he couldn't move backward, he couldn't turn around, the force pushed him onward and onward, even as he clawed and squirmed trying not to take the first, unchangeable step on the mad road.
And…
T-T-T-T-T-T
Slade stood above him, his staff ready to go right through a soft part of his anatomy.
But there was one more vision.
Her image was in front of his eyes, her mouth in a permanent smile, her eyes glowing like jewels. He spoke her name.
"Shimmer."
CLANG!
….
….
….
….
…
Robin kicked Slade out of the way.
Even as he got up, Starfire slammed him to the wall.
A green triceratops broke through it, sending him flying.
Cyborg grabbed him in mid-air and piled drove him into the ground.
He stepped aside to let Raven slam him with a bolt of telekinesis that almost broke through his chest plating.
Through all this, X watched, on the ground.
Slade got up.
Breathing heavily.
The room suddenly turned fully dark for a few moments. And when the lights came on, Slade had vanished.
Only then did Red X let the blackness consume him.
Titans Tower
"The way I see things, everything is going to heck. With all the chaos going on, we need to stick together now more than ever, and I apologize for forgetting that."
"Robin, please! It is not your fault!"
"Starfire, you could have gotten hurt."
"…I have been through much worse, Robin."
They were in the meeting room.
"What about the others, Star?"
"Rob, we're fine!"
"Yeah, dude, don't get yourself tied in a knot."
"You don't understand. You could have all got…"
Raven rose up, like a ghost. Everyone went silent as she glided over to Robin.
She slowly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"This is nothing, Robin. Compared to everything we've been through, this is nothing."
And she silently returned to her seat.
Silence.
Silence.
Starfire broke it. "Where is the Red X?"
Cyborg jerked a finger up. "On the roof. Brooding on something."
Robin nodded. "I'll go talk to him."
As he left the room, Starfire floated in front of him.
"Regardless of his former actions, he did help save me. Do not be too hard on him."
Robin smiled. "I won't, Star."
T-T-T-T-T-T
He kneeled, watching the sunrise.
"Life is beautiful, and must be protected."
"You don't even care, don't you?"
"When I was your age, I thought so too."
"Enjoying the view?"
Robin appeared behind him.
"So what are ya going to do, kid? Arrest me?"
"Consider yourself on parole."
X nodded.
He looked out toward the horizon.
"It's beautiful."
"The sunrise?"
"Life. But that works too. It's a lesson I'm remembering."
A pause.
"The robot…"
Red X waved his hand. "A ghost of the past."
Robin didn't press the matter. "I'm sorry for what happened with…"
"Slade? I actually feel sorry for him."
Robin was taken aback. X chuckled.
"Heh, I know, sounds crazy, doesn't it? But I think he was kinda like me once. A human trying to survive in this world. And somewhere down the line, he just stopped caring for anyone else."
And once again, silence.
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know, kid. I guess I'll lay back, do some soul searching, make a few choices… heh, sounds sappy, doesn't it?"
He hesitated for a moment, and then put out his hand.
"Grant."
Robin looked at the hand. He looked at the skeleton mask.
A great many things went through his mind as he took the hand.
And he spoke one word.
"Dick."
Over the years Robin would wonder why he did exactly that. It was just so unlike him, to give out his first name under any circumstances.
And yet, he never seemed to regret his decision.
With a simple exchange of first names, there came a truce of sorts between the lives of Richard Grayson and Grant Wade.
Green-eyes leapt on the rooftops.
And now the boy was free to make his decision.
He entered into the building he called home.
He could finally see both paths. And he no longer felt like running away.
He leapt in the window and promptly saw the figure standing to the side of the window.
He saw both paths. And he knew in his heart what the right choice was.
"Who are you?"
So he made it.
"Our name is Phantasm."
(Fade to black…)
Postscript: WHEEEEE! Another chapter finished. I don't think this is very good, but hey, I'm probably wrong! EDIT: Wait, no, I'm right. Way too fast paced. Oh well.
Red X's backstory is entirely my own invention. Partly inspired by the contrast he has with Robin. (ie: A teacher). His name is a bit of a joke: Back in the comic books, there were four characters all named "Ravager". The first one was Grant Wilson, Slade's son, while the other one was Wade DeFarge, Slade's half-brother. Get it?
Ahem. As for the girlfriend angle, I know some of you are wondering "What the heck is going on?" Well please read "Rooftop Meetings", a one-shot that directly connects to this fic, although it takes place before the events in this story…at least, the events before Chapter 4.
Oh, and the name Omotegenkan comes from the site freedict(dot)com. Apparently, it means "Vestibule" in Japanese, but it's probably wrong. Oh well.
David Slack, in case you don't know, is the head writer of Teen Titans Animated. As for Brigit and Kyle, they are the real names of Potassium and ixnay, both of whom help run the site TitansGo(dot)net. Both of them are used with their own permission. It's kinda like in the show, where some of the artists insert themselves into the background. Of course, that's sort of harder to do in a fanfic…
Special thanks to my beta-reader BlackShield.
Next Chapter is the first of a three parter…and it involves…you got it, TITANS EAST! You can see where I'm going with this. That's right…MORE STUFF FROM THE COMICS! YAY COMICS! EDIT: Actually, it may still be Titans West. I'm not entirely sure.
Now then, you may go and review now while I indulge myself in a little study I've been conducting. Presenting:
A LOOK INTO FANFIC AUTHOR POST!
(Or Dr. Pepper is a drink of the netherworld)
If you've been reading Teen Titans fanfiction for awhile, you probably know of Post, author of "These Black Eyes." Something that's always bugged people (Read: Myself) is that he tries to distance himself from his fanfiction. No author's notes, little random mutterings, he deleted his one-shot commentary for the one-year anniversary of "These Black Eyes", and he always seems to mutter "SPACE IS A WASTE!" (A waste of what, I ask you Post? Time? Money? Life?) For some reason, he thinks that being a high-school/college student who lives with his parents writing fanfiction is grounds for insanity. (Dude, I know an adult housewife and mother who writes Teen Titans fanfiction. Her husband beta-reads.)
So what is the cause of all this? First, let's look at the facts.
His real name is presumably Ryan, and he seems to enjoy having his OC kill him. Repeatedly. He presumably has a cat named Buster, and he presumably is a bit crazy.
Okay, so they're not really facts. But a quick check into his profile reveals he also writes for The Legend of Zelda and X-Men Evolution. The latter two bear analysis.
First, if you look at the fanfic at the VERY bottom of his profile, you'll know his full penname is really "Post Rapture". In this case, I presume that it means either after the end of the world, or after an experience of pure joy. And in the AUTHORS NOTES at the beginning of his fics, we see a writer who is new, a bit concerned about the quality of his work, and no sign of the crazy person we see now.
So what prompted this?
Well, it could be a lot of things. It could have something to do with the date "November Fourth" (His birthday?) But I have a better theory. In the author notes he used to do, he always thanked one thing:
…
…
…
…
DR. PEPPER!
Yes, it is my hypothesis that Dr. Pepper is the cause for Post's troubles. This caffeinated beverage is the ultimate drug: It provides inspiration for the small price of LOSING YOUR MIND! And it seems it has finally taken his toll on his poor brain! Except the fanfic writing part of it.
Recommended Treatment: A holiday from Dr. Pepper, and spending a large amount of time in the world.
Not the real world, silly! The ONLINE world.
END!