To those of you who wondered what the heck happened to Speedy (since a couple of you did) he was electrocuted…horribly. Now, I do not know for certain what goes on when that happens to people, but I believe that I've heard that it is at least akin to what I have described.
Well, now on to the THANK YOU's then on to the chapter: They call me sweetsnow (-m), evilsangle, IoEuropa, Cherry Jade, TeenTitansObsessor, Raven1777, T-birds-AM (hey newbie! Glad to have you reading!),and as always…hermie!
DarkWindingRose: The joke that BG was making was sort of like –we'll arrive in 30 minutes or less!- you know, like Domino's used to say about a pizza delivery and BB was like, "Oh ha ha…" all sarcastically. Hope that helps!
Savvy: Dagnabit! (hehehe) Cutie. Anyway, I can totally relate! When I turned 20 I was like… "Uh, uh, uh…I'm…uh…crud, uh yeah 20!" Though I didn't run away ;). Hope I can make this an even better "follow up present" for you!
BethanyElise: There are 14 chapters! So, yes, I WILL be wrapping it up soon, but not at this second…and yes I DID put a lot of thought into the ending. I hope you enjoy it, but at the same time, I hope it catches you off guard!
Steve m: I do not mind your "criticisms" one bit. Really. I do need that as well. I've always said I'm not a great writer, but I would like to improve. And by the way, there was a specific reason why I did not give more description of the monster that Star and Speedy were fighting and you should most likely see why in this chapter! But I do thank you! Had I not done that for a specific reason, you would have been more than correct.
And once more this is a double-threat chapter as it were, with both a BB/Cy and a Star/Speedy setting. Robin and Raven are next chapter.
Disclaimer: Though I do not claim to be great, OR to suck, I do not claim to own Teen Titans either!
Playing Rough
The motley crew of a team arrived at the old stadium within minutes. Though now it was not only decrepit –as were the rest of the buildings in the city, it was on fire as well. A loud zap emitted from behind the group and they turned to face the cause of the destruction -all but Cy, who unfortunately had been hit by the calculated blast, which short circuited his hardware, causing him to shut down right in front of them. A pissed off Raven mentally transported his oddly posed body to an out of the way spot and tried, but failed to revive him.
"Overload!" Starfire and Cyborg yelled in unison while also bracing in a back-to-back mirrored fighting stance. They barely took one glance at each other, but both were reassured by the fact that their butts were covered if they got into too much trouble.
Beast Boy stood in shock, "Dude! He looks exactly the same as back home!"
Raven stepped forward, speaking with pronounced anger, "Good. Then you can easily help us kick his ass."
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at her blatant show of emotion (well, for her…), but just shrugged and shifted into a triceratops (he'd played with one too many "action figures" in his time not to enjoy changing into dinosaurs more than anything). Not to be outdone -even in the midst of tragedy (of course), Beast Girl morphed into a triceratops as well and they both looked over at each other and winked before blowing past the others and rampaging down the street toward Overload.
Ted watched in terror from the sidelines (though no one could really tell) as they charged from both sides, temporarily knocking the giant sparking beast from his task of randomly setting buildings aflame. He noticed that once Overload realized that they were a threat however, he set his sights on them and as they ran toward him a second time, he swung his right arm and backhanded them hard sending them flying though the air. The pair landed in a pile of garbage bags, Beast Boy on the bottom with a frazzled Beast Girl, only half conscious in his lap. He picked an old banana peel from his forehead and tossed it to the side before helping Beast Girl to her feet to see if she was okay.
In the meantime, the others had picked up the slack. Cyborg shot his laser cannon repetitively at Overload's shoulder hoping to distract him long enough for someone else to attack. And Starfire was gladly assuming the position to hand out some major hurt. Cyborg was having a hard time not being distracted himself just watching her. In her tight red leather uniform, she made quite the spectacle.
He knew full well that she could soar above its hulking body and rain down destruction from above if she wanted to, but at the moment, she looked as though she wanted to toy with him for a bit. She sprinted forward and called out to Raven. As she cut through the air, she trusted completely in her friend to do as she'd instructed. She used the now solid black disc that Raven had placed beneath her feet as a springboard to propel herself toward the monster. In mid jump, she contorted her body in such a way that she flipped upside down while at the same time allowing her legs twirl as if she were a propeller. She got in not one, not two, but three good kicks before landing on the ground and kicking him in the shins once more for good measure. She ducked a swing of his arm and dodged a bolt of electricity by executing an aerial back flip and landing in the splits. From this position she shot forth two good-sized starbolts. Unfortunately, neither fazed him, but Star was ready for this. She had already taken a running start at the giant and used her unbounded strength to push his leg from underneath him causing him to fall to his knees. Starfire was almost crushed in the process, but looked satisfied with herself as she rolled away and rose to her feet. She brushed her arm across her face wiping away the sweat and removing a few stray hairs from her vision. "Okay, that was fun!" she sighed breathlessly.
Her joy was short lived however as Overload recovered quickly and was now angrier and more determined than ever. He shot random bolts of electricity toward the three visible teammates and laughed heartily as the first one connected with Starfire's leg rendering it useless and at the same time setting it slightly aflame. Raven and Cyborg gasped in horror, but could not move toward her because Raven had to keep throwing out her shield to block each attack for fear they would become barbequed versions of themselves as well.
Cyborg watched Starfire drag herself out of the beast's path and attempt to put out her leg, all the while trying to hide her pain and he could stand it no longer, 'I must get out there and help her!' He ran forward, but was pushed back with a clang as he hit full force with a shield Raven had quickly produced.
"You idiot! Do you want to get yourself killed?" she yelled as he rubbed the fleshy part of his head.
"But," he started, gesturing toward Starfire trying to accentuate the seriousness of the moment.
"She can handle herself!" Raven yelled cutting him off. She swished her hand to the right to block another flash of electricity and had to quickly change her direction once again as she blocked a second errant one from behind.
"I don't even know if we can right now Rae!" Cyborg shot back, "Just let me out on three."
"No."
Cyborg's voice boomed with almost venomous intent, "Raven! The flames are spreading. She's going to die! I can't just stand here and do nothing!"
"Fine," she growled in compliance, "On three, we'll both make a run for her, and I'll shield us as quickly as I can."
He finally allowed the tension in his face to ease, but only slightly, "Thank you."
"One…" she started, "two…" at three, they ran full tilt toward Starfire, but it seemed that they needn't have tried so hard, as at that moment that luck was on their side. The electrified menace turned away from them, looking as if he were concentrating on an entirely separate entity.
It barely registered to Cyborg that the savage fiend was ignoring them. The only thing that he was concerned about at that moment was whether or not Raven could heal Starfire's leg. When it was finally decided that she could, he eased back and ventured a look toward the beast. Cyborg's face garnered a quizzical look as he observed Overload dodging invisible blasts and flinging his arms at nothing in particular, 'What is he doing? Nobody's there. Why is he flinching? What is he reacting to? –And I'd bet anything it's not Ted…'
Finally Overload's flailing ceased and he seemed to be throwing all of his concentration into one single entity that Cyborg himself could not see. The hellion roared with laughter as if in triumph, though over what Cyborg could still not tell. He turned his attentions back to Starfire and her now singed, but not too entirely incapacitated leg. He smiled at her and helped her to her feet, slinging her arm over his shoulder so that she could use him as her own personal crutch.
In the midst of everything, Raven had seen the odd behavior of the demon and had concocted a plan. "Ted, I know you're out there," she called out, "I need your help now you little scaredy cat!" She barely caught sight of him as he flicked into existence for a split second then flicked back out, but it was enough to notice where he had been standing. She stomped over, grabbed him by (what she assumed and prayed to be) his collar, and got straight to the point, "I know you're scared out of your mind right now, but I need you to do one thing for me, alright? I need you to be a hero." She heard a slight rustling sound and understood it to be him nodding so she forged ahead, "I need you to distract Overload. Get next to him and throw a rock at him or something so that when he turns, I can attack him from behind." She could sense strong feelings of doubt and knew what she had to say next. 'Though this pains me to no end…' She sighed, "I know you can do this. We're all counting on you." Then for good measure, she threw in, "Starfire's counting on you."
He flicked back into existence long enough for her to see a glimmer of courage in his eyes, so she let go of his garment. 'Go get 'em tiger,' she thought sarcastically before focusing her energies on her next attack. She cleared her mind and recalled the spell she needed. Then all she had to do was wait for Ted's signal.
He did a much better job than she had anticipated and much more quickly. She barely had time to say an 'Azarath Metrion Zinthos' to call up her powers before executing the much larger Azarath Okai - "eye of the hurricane"- spell. It didn't quite work as she had hoped. It caught Overload off guard and knocked him completely unconscious yes, but as a side effect it also knocked Raven unconscious for a time. Fortunately for her, the backfire allowed her time to contemplate within her psyche. So when she came-to to see five eager faces staring down at her from above, she half-smiled as she announced, "I know how to get you home."
...
Starfire did not wait around to see Overload's defeat. Instead she scooped Speedy's limp body from the ground and flew him to the tower at speeds which she had never dared attempt before. As she laid him on the cot in the medical room, she looked down at his pale, almost lifeless features and tears began to form in her emerald eyes. She stopped herself however, brushing them away before any fell. "I need not cry yet. Not when I may still do something for him," she stated aloud.
Starfire's eyes darted around the room taking in all of the knobs and wires and metal doohickeys. She did not even know how to begin hooking up the equipment with which she was supposed to monitor the boy. 'Oh, I am –if my earth phrasing is correct- "in way over my head"! I cannot do this,' she concluded bitterly. But as with her tears, she brushed those thoughts aside and set her mind to more optimistic thinking, 'Starfire, you must! You are his only hope…and at this moment, he is yours.' She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated. She sifted through her mental pictures and pulled up an image of Robin lying on the same cot after an attack from Slade. 'Robin!' her mind screamed, momentarily recalling other times that she had shared with him. 'Robin is gone. Speedy needs your help now!' she recalled as she begrudgingly pushed that thought away and focused on the placement of each piece of equipment -where it was, what it did, and how to connect it properly. After five minutes of intense scrutiny in her mind of the details, she set to work.
Half an hour later, Speedy was absorbing liquids through an IV in his arm and his heart rate was being closely monitored by his red headed nursemaid. She could tell that his pulse was weak and rapidly fading and she tended to him as best she could, but she did not know what else to do for him. 'There are some remedies of Tamaran that I could apply, but I do not believe any of them would heal this severe of an injury. Oh, if only I were able to heal as Raven heals!' After an hour of intense care and a constant decline in response, the machine's steady beat was replaced by one long echoing tone.
"You cannot do this!" Starfire asserted to no one in particular. She curled her fingers around his shoulders and pulled her body closer to him, laying her head on his chest as the tears began to flow freely, "You cannot take him too! I am not meant to be alone!"
As if in response to her cries, the machine resumed it's rhythmic pattern once again and in that last moment of hope, Speedy whispered clearly, "Star, you will never be alone. I will be with you always." The last breath escaped from his body as the line once again ran unbroken.
Oh goodness! Did I just have Speedy die? Why yes, yes I did.
That is so sad!
Do you believe? Do you believe in Speedy? Clap your hands if you believe! Go on…clap! Maybe, just maybe…he'll come back to her safely…
Or maybe I'm just mean and sadistic and he won't.
Either way…
Review darn you!
…or you will not get to read the Rob/Rae awesomeness.