"Kick her ass."
Raven dropped down onto the ground, the mirror cradled into her hands, her legs crossed beneath her as she sank fully into a meditative trance. A black aura engulfed her.
All this did the Ravager watch, aghast, and then turned her attention back to Nightwing, back to her own opponent. She had no doubt in her mind she would win. He was tough but so was she, she was stronger and faster with the serum enhancing her physical prowess, she could match him move for move. And she could see any move he made long before he made it. Surely he knew this all as well as she did, if not better.
Why then, she wondered, doesn't he look scared?
Nightwing made the first move, springing forward and swinging his iron staff. The Ravager countered with her blades, matching him blow for blow. His attacks, however, were basic. Easily blocked. And she could feel he wasn't putting his full strength behind them. He fully expected all his attacks to be countered. So she turned the tide against him, blocking one blow and ducking under another, lashing out with her blades. Nightwing countered, now on the defensive, and she pushed him back slowly along the broken street.
Ravager smirked, giving him a moment to catch his breath as she whirled the blades before her in an expert figure-eight style, crossing them at the end with a soft 'clang,' "Warm up's over, Robin-chan," she remarked sweetly. "Ready to get serious?"
Nightwing smirked, deftly flipping his own bo staff end over end in a complicated maneuver to match her own... then abruptly let it retract back into it's collapsed form and slid it into a pocket of his uniform. "Ready when you are, Rose," he replied, cracking his knuckles. He assumed a ready stance, legs spread, arms at his sides.
The Ravagers eyes narrowed behind her mask, but, deciding it ultimately did not matter if she beat him with or without weapons, she slid her blades back into the sheaths on her back and launched herself forward with her fist. Nightwing countered, catching it with his empty palm and knocking it aside. Ravager smirked, counting on that, and whirled around in mid-swing, lashing out with a backhand. Nightwing countered that as well, bringing up his arm to block her strike before she struck his head. He then countered by suddenly lunging forward and slamming his body into hers. Stronger and faster she may have been, but the greater height and size was his, as was weight, and he knocked her backwards. She stumbled slightly, glaring at him. She hadn't expected that. She'd been expecting him to try and counter with another attack. But he hadn't. What was he up to?
Nightwing crouched down and sprang up with his powerful legs, hurling himself up into the air to catch a hold of an overhanging street lamp, using his momentum to swing himself up and over on top of it, landing in a crouch, smiling down at the Ravager.
"Coming?" he asked.
The Ravager growled, and instead of hurling herself up after him, she flew forward and slammed her fist into the base of the street light, cracking the thick metal foundation with her attack. The metal rang out as she slammed her fists against it in a series of bone-crushing attacks, until finally the entire thing started to topple, and Nightwing lost his balance and fell. Thinking quickly, the dark warrior thrust out his arm and shot a grapple from atop his wrist, letting it catch on an overhanging building. He swung forward, slamming fully into the Ravager's chest with both feet, and continued through, knocking them both into a nearby alleyway.
Nightwing landed lightly on his feet, retracting the grapple back into his wrist.
The Ravager slammed hard onto the ground, but flipped lightly to her feet as well.
The white-haired girl grimaced, lifting up her arm. She'd tried to catch herself as she fell, and her wrist had neatly snapped in the landing, crushed under her weight and the awkward angle she'd fallen. Growling, she pushed herself to her feet, glaring at Nightwing as she grabbed at her hand. This was going to hurt, she knew.
She snapped the wrist back into place, wincing at the incredible pain she felt... and then felt relief wash over her as the broken bones mended and healed, and in moments, it was completely healed. She tested that, flexing her fingertips and rotating her wrist, admiring her fingernails. Yes, everything was better now.
"All you got, Boy Blunder?" she asked mockingly.
"Still getting warmed up," he replied, just standing there, arms outstretched. He almost seemed to be inviting attack, but the Ravager was not fooled. She recognized that stance. He could move like lightning to defend against any sort of attack.
Still he was on the defensive. Why?
"Today I avenge my father in full," she said. "Avenge him for what you Titans did to him. Terra has already paid the price. But you bear the responsibility as well, Robin," she said, her eyes dark and hate-filled as they regarded him. "You rejected him, rejected his offer to become Apprentice, and started him on the path that lead to his death. For that, I will never forgive you."
She launched herself at him, throwing a flurry of attacks that would've left the average fighter and even some of the less skilled martial artists on the ground with broken bones. Nightwing countered, blocking her attacks, though the sheer force of them was pushing him back, deeper into the alleyway. Still, so far she'd yet to connect directly with him. Nor was he able to hit her.
"And I'll never forgive you for what you've done, Rose," he replied, continuing to block her attacks. "Look around you. Your quest for vengeance has made you into a criminal, just like Slade was. But he chose to become who he was, just like you did. I won't bear any responsibility for your choices," he said, blocking one particularly powerful thrust aimed for his face with his open palm, catching her fist. He countered immediately, spinning and delivering a sharp circle kick to her exposed midsection, knocking her back. "But I will stop you before you hurt more innocent people."
"No one is innocent!" she shouted angrily, more angry at herself for not seeing the attack coming than for his actual hit. It hadn't hurt much, after all. She launched herself back into the fray. "Look around yourself, fool! Jump City is filled with corrupt people. You of all people should know that, you battle them everyday. And others are weak if they cannot defend themselves! Why would you bother to fight for something that has no meaning?"
There.
A split-second lack of concentration on Nightwing's part had brought an opening in his defense, and the Ravager was quick to exploit it, slamming her booted foot right into his jaw and sending him flying through the air to slam hard against the brick wall behind him. He'd hit hard enough to crack the wall behind him with an outline of his body. The Ravager didn't hesitate, and threw herself forward, slamming attack after powerful attack into his now exposed body, hard and powerful, not giving him a chance to counter. The building seemed to shudder with each powerful strike, but Nightwing did far worse, coughing up blood and gasping in fresh pain after each attack.
"Claws of the Iron Bear!" he shouted in desperation, yanking back his arms and thrusting them out, both palms striking the Ravager. She countered, having seen the attack long before it came, and crossed her arms in front of her to block it. Still, the attack was a very strong one, and sent her back. It gave Nightwing enough time to bid a hasty retreat, heading down an adjacent alleyway. The Ravager grinned wickedly as she gave pursuit.
Suddenly Nightwing spun, hurling something he'd just drawn from his utility belt, and the Ravager's swords flew from their sheaths, slicing at the thrown objects before they could hit her. But to her surprise, not birdarangs, but smoke grenades. She coughed, throwing up her arms as she stumbled backwards. Smoke quickly filled the alleyway, blinding any sort of vision.
"You'll have to do better than that!" she roared, her words no longer as confident as they'd been earlier. After all, she'd trained to fight using only her ears, but surely he had too. And she hadn't really tested her abilities like this since her days of training.
"Strike of the Flying Serpent!" came a voice from the darkness, and the Ravager only had time to see a gloved hand come striking at her, fingers drawn together. The tips hit her hard, and again she was hurled backwards by the sheer power behind the attack. Where did he learn such moves? She had studied with some of the best, and never had she heard of such attacks.
No matter, she thought grimly. I'm still the better fighter. But I need to get out of this smoke. I can't fight him if I can't see him.
The Ravager hurled herself forward, blades first, in case Nightwing was still waiting in front of her, and launched herself out into the open road, clear of the smoke. She glanced around quickly, but no sign of her opponent. Must still be hiding in the smoke. So she took up a stance and prepared for him to emerge, blades upraised. Come on, she thought. Come on out and I slice you to ribbons. Then keep your head as a trophy.
Her eyes opened wide in shock.
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Rose's life had never been a normal one. Her mother had died shortly after her birth, her father she had never known, she'd been put into a japanese orphanage for much of her life, never knowing who she truly was. Her white-haired had marked her as an outcast among the others there, as had the peculiar circumstance involved in her coming to the orphanage... covered in blood. She hadn't made friends easily.
She'd tried running away. Often she escaped into back alleys and the likes of Tokyo and later Kyoto, but always she found her footsteps dragging her back to an orphanage for a roof over her head and warm food in her belly. Once time when she ran away, however, she stowed away on a ship bound for America, hoping to improve her lot in life in the land of opportunity. Quickly she discovered no such land existed. America was just as bad as her homeland. Its people wanted only one thing... money. And she had little more than the clothes on her back and a single antique necklace her mother had given to her, containing an image of her and her father. Lillian Worth and her white-haired lover. Not husband.
He'd been an American, she'd said. Perhaps...
Again, she found herself in an orphanage in Jump City, but here she was less of an outcast, perhaps because she was so polite and well-mannered. Quieter, it seemed, than most trouble-making children of the same age. She was placed in a family, given the last name of Madison. She'd still been somewhat restless, but now she had something like a family. Even if it wasn't her real family. She'd had a roof over her head and food in her belly, and she had... well... not quite loved the Madisons... but she'd liked them. Cared about them.
Until the day her gift came to light.
She'd seen their murder before it had happened. She'd known it was going to happen. But she'd been scared. She'd tried to push it off as some silly daydream or the like. But then it had happened. The sniper had taken out her father... then her mother... then nearly her. But the Titans had come. They'd stopped the shooter. But they hadn't truly saved her.
He had saved her.
Slade. Her father.
At first she'd been terrified. She'd heard of Slade, after all. A ruthless criminal mastermind, it was said. But he had not seen so to Rose when he had removed his mask. A white-haired man, wearing an eye-patch, with a white beard and moustache. Just as his picture looked in the necklace. Her father.
He hadn't been able to see her as often as they both liked, but he'd taken her into his world, given her a home and a purpose in life. To train, to fight. He had even taught her to kill... bringing in the assassin who had slain the Madisons, offering her a chance at revenge, offering her the chance to fire the gun herself, which he placed in her hand. But she had rejected it...
... she wanted to use her sword. To drive it into his belly and let the assassin bleed to death, slowly, in agonizing pain.
They had been inseparable, father and daughter.
Until his apprentice, Terra, had betrayed him. Until the Titans had destroyed Slade and sent him screaming down into the depths of Hell. Rose, still too young to aid him, could only watch on the video screens as Slade's fortress was destroyed, could only watch helplessly as his mask floated on the lava, then drifted down beneath it. And her father with it.
Back then, she could only watch.
So she'd trained. She'd prepared herself. She'd studied the Titans. She'd gathered together an army of assassins and continued her father's work. That she was a child made no difference. She was good, and they knew it. She'd gathered Tartarus to counter the other Titans. She'd honed her precog skills until she could see an opponent's move long before it was made, and made herself nothing short of invincible. And then she'd injected herself with the serum her father had been subjected to, and fully completely her transformation from fragile rose to deadly Ravager.
Back then, she could only watch.
Now she could act.
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The nature of Rose's precog powers were that she could see things before she happened. Generally, an attack. She could see herself from a third-person point of view, see her opponent and what attack they made, and generally have enough time to counter it before it struck.
But this time, she saw herself... but not her opponent. She was struck!
How...!
She barely had time to comprehend the attack as something hard slammed into her chin in a powerful uppercut, sending her hurling through the air to slam hard into a nearby building, shattering the glass wall and hitting a row of TV's stacked up on display. A hardware store of sorts. Fate had perhaps a hint of irony in this, for it was the very same store that Brother Blood had been trying to raid only a few short weeks ago.
How...!
She sat up, wincing as she felt a cracked rib heal start to heal itself. She was pushing her limits. Her body would regenerate most serious damage but even she had her limitations. If she pushed them too far...
... no. I can't fail. I won't. For father!
Nightwing seemed to materialized out of thin air, appearing before her startled eyes in the frame of the shattered window. His hand drifted away from the front of his belt, and it was primarily by that motion that she figured out what had happened. She hadn't been able to properly predict the attack, because she couldn't see it coming. He'd kept himself cloaked. That was Red X technology he was using. It made sense now, the more she thought about it. After all, Robin had been the original Red X. And last the belt and all its technology had been seen, had been in his hands, stolen back from the fake.
"Can't do that too often," remarked Nightwing, as if reading her thoughts. "Not much power left in the belt. But it was enough."
"You can't win," she said, pushing herself to her feet and drawing both of her katanas. Enough fooling around. It was time to finish this.
"I'm not trying to win," he replied, withdrawing his own weapon and swinging out both ends to their full length, holding it before him.
A blur of motion and the sharp 'clang-clang' of metal filled the air, as both Nightwing and Ravager pushed their limits and fought to their absolute best. Both were strong. Both were fast. Both had trained under some of the best warriors and martial artists in the world. And both were fighting in a cause they believed in.
But that was about to change.
"I will avenge my father's death!" she screamed at him savagely.
Nightwing blocked a vicious slash of the Ravager's sword and knocked her back, giving them both a little space so he could catch his breath. She too, took a moment to recuperate. It was enough. He reached down to his belt, withdrew something, and tossed it. She immediately raised her blades, then quirked an eyebrow in confusion as the attack went very wide of her and struck not her, but the open mouth of an undamaged TV nearby. It'd been a disk. A DVD. Again, she was confused.
"Home movies?" she asked lightly.
"You could say that," he replied. "Glad you mentioned your dad though... this is about him."
The Ravager, unpleased to see her father so casually mentioned by this arrogant bastard, lashed out with a fist. But her anger fueled her strength and made her reckless, and he grabbed her wrist and jerked it hard behind her back, spinning her around and slamming her hard into a nearby wall, her head twisted so she could watch the television as an image came upon it.
Slade. It was her father. And that, more than anything, prevented her from breaking the hold Nightwing had her in... for now. She could easily do it later.
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Slade stood on the screen, speaking to someone just off of it. It was impossible to mistake him for anyone else. Anyone else might have been able to wear that armor and mask, but none could hold that stance, that way of moving, that confidence that filled his every tiny motion. Nor could any properly capture that voice. The soothing serpent's hiss that frightened his enemies and brought comfort to his daughter.
"Tomorrow at precisely six thirty-seven," stated Slade carefully. "You will find the anonymous tip outside of Titan's Tower, and present it to Robin. He will be able to decrypt it with little effort, I suspect."
"And then?" asked the speaker, still off-camera. A girl, young, but other than that nothing that Ravager could identify.
"Then? Why, do what Titans do. Protect the girl. Rose must be kept safe, you understand."
The Ravager almost smiled. Her father was talking about her. It gave her strength... and hope. She could win. Nightwing couldn't beat her. He was a fool for showing this to her. But then the image changed slightly, as Slade turned his back to the camera, and a vid screen came on in the background. An video within a video. It had a distinct blue-white flicker that irritated her eyes. But still, she could see distinctly the face contained on the screen. It couldn't be!
It was the face of the assassin who had slain the Madison's. The first man she'd slain with her own sword.
A soft blinking red light underneath the screen was labeled "sound only." Slade's face was not visible to the man.
"Good to see you on time. You're in position?"
"We will be," replied the fellow. "Two hours, they're both dead."
"A reminder that I will only pay you the hundred thousand if only the parents are dead. If the girl suffers so much as a single scratch..."
"Hey don't worry about it, Mr. Money. You're paying us good stuff just to off two nobody's. We can handle it."
"Excellent. Mr. Money out."
Slade terminated the transmission. And the image on the screen vanished.
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The Ravager was stunned. Flat out, openly shocked. All the strength seemed completely drained from her body.
"It... it's not possible..."
Nightwing released her, and the Ravager slumped to the ground, staring blankly ahead. He ignored her, making his way to the TV and ejecting the disk into his hand. "Slade used you, Rose. Manipulated you. Just like he did with me and Terra. He preys on people's weaknesses, forcing them into situations where they have no choice but to serve him."
"No..."
"Slade sent out that hit, had us show up just to make sure you were safe. To make it seem realistic. But he was behind all of it. Terra had these records since she started working for him. She'd been hoping to turn them over to us, switch sides, but your father caught on. Told her the same thing he told me. If she left, we died."
"No..."
"Your father used you, Rose. Had you as a back-up apprentice because he didn't trust Terra."
"No...!"
"Used you, manipulated you, killed your parents, and then had you murder a man who had done nothing other than obey his orders! Your father was a monster, Rose."
"NO!"
Ravager punctuated the last as a shriek, hurling herself at Nightwing, who leapt backwards to avoid a vicious double sword slash that nearly decapitated him. The air became alive with the swish of slashing swords, as the Ravager forced Nightwing back with her vicious assault, showing no mercy and giving no quarter. He sprang out of the broken window and back into the streets, raising up his staff just in time to stop a particularly vicious slash that would've left him without his left arm. He sprang backwards, deflecting more of her attacks.
"You're lying!" she shouted over the 'clang-clang' of metal on metal. "It's all lies! My father would never...!"
"Wouldn't he?" asked Nightwing sharply, deflecting one slash and catching her sword arm with his own, lashing out with his staff and sweeping her legs out from underneath her, knocking her onto the ground. But rather than press the assault, he stood back. "You knew him better than any of us, perhaps. Maybe even me. Knowing your father... doesn't this sound like exactly what he would've done?"
"NO!" shouted the Ravager, leaping to her feet, only to be slammed hard in the gut by a jab from the staff. She hadn't seen it coming. Why hadn't she seen it coming!
Nor did she see the series of follow up attacks coming, she couldn't see anything anymore. Her precog skills couldn't work properly if she couldn't stay focused, and tears blinded her vision. Her training allowed her to parry some of the strikes, but more often than not a sharp bo staff would jab into her shoulder or gut, knocking her backwards still further.
"LIAR!" she spat out, grunting as his staff again struck her legs, nearly knocking her onto her knees. She pushed up, however, spinning around to lash out with her katana's. His staff was already there to block them.
"The disk..." he started to say, but she cut him off.
"A fake! It's a lie!" she shouted at his face, pushing her blades hard against his blocked staff.
"Terra..."
"Lying bitch killed my father!" she shouted, lashing out with her foot, forcing Nightwing back. He swung up his staff just barely in time to deflect her double downward slash, catching both blades with the iron weapon with a resounding 'clang.' Grimly he pushes up, dropping to one knee to stabilize himself as she started to push down. Her blades came within inches of his shoulders.
"You're all lying! Liars! My father was just like me! He saved me!" she shouted angrily. But even as she spoke the words, tears continued to stream down her cheeks and along her mask. She spoke the words, but it was quite clear she didn't believe them. Not anymore.
To this, Nightwing could only have one response. For the nine-year-old girl he couldn't save.
"I'm sorry for this, Rose," he said. Then, he struck.
The Ravager watched in astonishment, marveling at his technique. He'd been holding his staff with his hands far too close together, or so it had seemed to her. A better move would have been to held them further out, enabling him to use more of his arm muscles to push up against her attack. But they were so close they nearly touched. But now his technique became apparent to her as he twisted both his fists around the bo staff, and an audible 'click' was heard as the staff separated into two smaller versions of itself. Retractable jo staves, designed to be connected to one another to form a bo staff. Before the Ravager could react, Nightwing knocked aside both of her blades and stepped inside of her guard, striking her hard along her shoulders and midsection, driving her back.
She was flung backwards but managed to keep her feet, but Nightwing was not done. He launched himself up high into the air, raising up both jo staves to attack, and she threw up blades to block and counterstrike. This was it, she sensed. The final strike. She threw all of her strength into that attack, as did Nightwing.
A massive clang came, and then the sound of metal shattering.
The Ravager cried out in pain, stumbling backwards and falling flat on her backside as she clutched at the side of her face. Already blood was running down her cheek from the wound. Nightwing dropped gracefully to his feet, regarding her with pity.
"You're more like Slade than you can imagine, Ravager," he stated darkly.
The Ravager's swords had shattered in the attack, and a stray shard of sharp metal had lanced deep into the Ravager's left eye. That was a wound that her regeneration would not be able to heal. Blood and salty tears were streaming down the side of her cheek now. Her mask had been slashed as well, and slid from her face as she lifted her head, staring hard at Nightwing with her one remaining good eye.
"How... how did you win?" she spat at him, her single blue orb piercingly bright as it regarded him.
He took a long moment before answering, collapsing his jo staves and sliding them back into the pockets of his uniform. As he did so, the Titans rejoined them. Beastboy swooped in as a great green pterodactyl, gently setting the comatose Adonis on the ground before settling beside Nightwing and resuming his normal shape. Cyborg trudged in a few moments later, dragging along Brother Blood and none-too-gently tossing him onto the ground beside the Ravager, where he gave a groan of discomfort. A third body joined the first two, as Starfire dropped Blackfire onto the pile of defeated Tartarus and then dropped down lightly to stand beside Nightwing. Raven's black aura faded, and she rose, completing the circle of Titans standing around the Ravager.
"Because I wasn't fighting to win for myself," Nightwing finally replied. "I was fighting for my friends."
The Ravagers final shriek of disbelief split the dark skies.
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Author's Notes:
The two named attacks of Robin's come from 'The Quest,' taught to him by the Bear and the Snake, respectively. Truthfully, I wanted to insert the third, but couldn't think of a way to properly utilize it. Since the Ravager here is the only member of Tartarus not having appeared on the animated series on one form another, and much of her comic history had to be modified for this story, I included a summarized flashback here to clear up some questions. Her mother's name, the Madisons, their subsequent assassination and her rescue by Slade, as well as her killing their assassin were all comic inspired. Red X and his cloaking technology comes from 'Masks' and 'X' of course. Comically, Slade (or Deathstroke, really) arranged for the attack to kill Rose's parents and force her into a father-daughter reunion. In the comics she never found out, but I couldn't resist letting this one know. Recently, Rose did become blinded in one eye, just like her father, but in the comics it was self-inflicted to prove herself to Slade. Robin's final line comes from the end of 'Winner Take All.' Next time: Tartarus is beaten, but the story is not yet done. More dangers lie in store for the Titans and Jump City.
Finn Mac Cool: Not really transforming into Anger, more like Anger exploding from within Malchior. But yes, yes it was cool. Nightwing and the Ravager, as you can see, settled things between themselves.
LoCaD: That was one of my original plans for Raven, to make her a bit more normal emotionally. Which is why she went through such torment as losing Anger in the first place. See? There is a method to my madness.
Blackbird: I'm afraid I don't recognize the quote. I had this debate myself... Silkie is a male, referred to as a he by Starfire and Beastboy. However, to my mind Silkie is a feminine name, and I sometimes unconsciously write she/her/etc. instead.
Anwen: Don't feel bad. A lot of the stuff in this story comes from recent episodes, of course some people won't recognize it. I just hope it's not spoiled for when you see the episode. Besides, British people rock. I should know, I am one.
Snea: It's a damn good quote, isn't it? And very accurate. Name any decent fight I guarantee that's how it goes down. As for the emotion-to-powers thing, well, I do my homework to give you all (the audience) the accurate good stories you deserve.
Yomiori-Wolfdemon: Admittadly, this is my interpretation of Malchior, you may be somewhat disappointed by his actual conduct in 'Spellbound.' Though it seems I've already spoiled it a great deal for you. I could always use another Tamaranian Princess plushie.
Todd fan: You poor thing. Ah well, at least you get a little summer time to relax.
Ultimate R-Man: Oh believe me, Malchior is going to wish he was dead. But yes, I know exactly what you mean. Nightwing and Raven are the most likely to be killers in the League, it doesn't really fit the other's personalities/profiles.
Scathac's Warrior: As I told Ultimate R-Man. But no, as you can see, Blackfire is not dead. Just got a royal beat-down from sister dearest.
Comet-hime: You do enjoy women who kick ass, don't you? Well that makes two of us. Dariand'r's Legend comes from 'Happy-Raven' who wrote it into the story 'It's Relative.' I'm sure they'll love it if you check it out.
ViciousAssassin: And now we have Tartarus – 0, Titans – 5. Rather one-sided, don't you think? But don't worry, it ain't over yet. Malchior is not dead, nor is he Anger. And the chakram gem was sent back-in-time-to-become-the-chakram-Raven-found-in-chapter-15. Time loop.
Elrohirthewriter: Agreed, Hannyo are a most dangerous breed of creatures. I too enjoyed the argument between sisters about home and friendship, it seems the key differences between them, not really power.
TDG3RD: I particularily enjoyed writing that, figuring that, since it's practically a split-personality, the other emotions are more like people. Thus, even Timid can be brave sometimes. And what better way for her to act than to pay back the backstabbing lizard?