Starfire- Tigress
Nightwing- Wolf
Raven- Raven
Cyborg- Bear
Beast Boy- Hyena
Terra- Mamba
Slade- Slade, Deathstroke
Disclaimer- I don't own the Teen Titans. As if!
No Man's Land
It was a dark time. Jump City was a no man's land, outside realm of God. Declared by the government as 'no longer under federal protection or marketing'. 400 square miles, where no one was safe and justice was dead. Since 'Black Thursday' the world had shut out the unsolvable failure that was Jump City and the slums. No one was allowed in, no one allowed out.
Slade, a tyrant with one eye had slowly taken over the area. He ruled Jump City, filled the surrounding slums with drugs and destroyed everything. Slade ruled and had done so for 20 years.
The city was filled with crime. Rickety tenements surrounded Slade's headquarters. It was always raining and a black cloud of smog blocked out the sun and suffocated the residents. It was crisis. People were starving and the hospitals overflowing with sickness. Gangs committed senseless acts, killing innocents. Jump City was a living hell.
Slade'ssoldiers carried out his every whim, killing anyone who threatened his empire. He was not beyond killing children or women. He was ruthless; a tyrant. Anyone that stood against him would be killed. If you were important enough he might even send one of the D.S.F; Death Stroke's Five. Five of the most highly trained assassins the world had ever known.
The D.S.F. would attack one at a time, weakening you to the brink of death. It was done excruciatingly slowly; you never knew when they would attack next. You lived in fear of their strike. Few survived the first attack, let alone the second. Never did anyone go through 3, much less five. Fear was the name of the game. Each of the D.S.F. had their own style of fighting, each using different elements to their advantage.
There was Hyena, who attacked with the ferocity of the hyena. He used swords to slit throat of his targets. He was average size man with dark green eyes and green hair and skin. He wore a black ninja that covered most of his jade skin and face with only an eye hole and allowed him to move freely.
There was Bear, second in command, whose strength was that of legend. He used high tech weaponry to blast his victims into oblivion. He was big and broad, with smooth chocolate skin and dark brown eyes. His black trench coat, combat boots and shades hid him in the dark alleys.
Raven was a dark and mysterious figure, who used stealth her advantage. She only came at night, using daggers and ninja stars to kill her victims. She was thin with short violet hair and violet eyes to match. She wore a dark leotard and cape.
There was Mamba. She was tall and blond with deep blue eyes and quite pretty. She was the rookie, new, inexperienced and a bit too eager to please. She used poison darts to kill her victims, often romanced her targets before she killed, betraying them. The others did not trust her. She also wore a red, tight leather pants and top with spiked combat boots.
Wolf. The leader. A loner, with long black hair and ice blue eyes that radiated the coldness of his hardened heart. The most feared of all. His bow staff had put many into a permanent sleep. He wore loose blue silk pants and a loose blue silk kimono top.
There was once one named Tigress, who fled to the winds 5 years ago. Slade had been furious, having lost her and her deadly sai. Her beauty was as legendary as Hyena's ferocity, Raven's stealth, Bear's strength, Mamba's backstabbing and Wolf's mercilessness. Slade had searched for her obsessively seeking revenge.
It was a dark, dreary night in Jump City when Slade called for D.S.F. He paced before them, "Its time for a hit my assassins." Slade laughed. "We have found the location of our beloved traitor, Tigress. She has been hiding out in the slums. I trained her from a young age as I trained you. She will be hard to defeat. She was, is one of the best. Show no mercy. Wolf doesn't have a problem with it, none of you should. No tigress goes down without a fight." Slade smiled evilly, his one eye widened with delight. "Hyena, you will go first. Failure will not be tolerated."
"Yes, master." Hyena bowed as did the others. He turned out of the room, gathering his swords so he could begin immediately.
"Leave me." They left, leaving Slade in the dark briefing room. Slade breathed, tightness closing in on his chest. He clutched it and an attendant rushed to help him.
"No." he growled, knocking the attendant to the floor. It's the damn air, he thought, although he had had similar episodes in the past weeks. He was getting old, and death was quickly approaching, maybe within the year. He would fight as he fought all change, and all things.
The city was rotting. Homeless families sought shelter in abandoned parking garages and many lived in the slums. Only 30 of the population was employed and the jobless wandered in the dark, dirty alleys that connected the city. Those that had once prominent and rich were reduced to the lowly tenements they once thought disgusting. Disease ran rampant killing more people then the gangs did. And it was only the beginning. It would only get worse.
Wolf stepped into the house. Slade kept him and the other assassins in the former mayor's home, which he had seized. It was nice colonial, but had fallen into disrepair. The parquet floors were scuffed and the doors were scratched and beaten. The stove was crusty with guck from over boiled food. The foundation was unsteady and creaked.
Wolf trudged upstairs in his empty room. It held nothing but a sleeping pad, lamb, and a trunk. Wolf took off his kimono, and threw it onto the trunk. Hyena won't be able to beat Tigress, he thought, Tigress was stronger. She would probably even beat Raven, Bear and Mamba, but she was no match for him. Somehow, he sensed it would be down to him and her, and he would have to kill the woman he once loved. He hated her now, the way she left without so much as a word. He wouldn't have a problem killing her. He never did. He lay down and finally drifted into a fitful sleep.
Flashback
They were in the dark training room, right at the formation of the squad, an audition if you will. The 50 best fighters were each paired with a sparring partner. Slade stood before them.
"Now, each of you will have a sparring partner. Bear doesn't need practice his weapons- which happen to be a pair of .44s, an automatic rifle and explosives." Slade yelled. The pairs drifted into the training circles and Bear sat on the sidelines. Slade tossed a match, which caught on the gasoline around the circle. Each pair was trapped in the ring of fire, 10-foot flames dancing around them.
Tigress was paired with a man raised by the one and only Slade. He had an alloy bow staff. Tigress bore a pair of sai, her three pronged weapons, sharpened till they were razor sharp.
"Now, each the object is to fight your partner till the other is pinned for 10 seconds or unconscious. The 4 best will be chosen for the team. Bear has already made it. Begin."
He circled her, checking for a weak spot. She charged him and they sparred the fury of the fire, the clashing metal, the flying weapons. They went on and on, the man dominating. Slade watched them with evil dancing in his eyes. They were perfect.
Suddenly, Tigress sent him to the ground with a vicious blow to the face. She pinned him, threatening to send her sai, though his heart. He gave her a surprised look.
Slade was furious. He doused the fire and had his stooges drag a struggling Wolf out. Slade picked up a poker that was glowing white and pressed it to Wolf's exposed back. Wolf ground his teeth not daring to cry out. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. The fighters watched in horror as Slade drew a picture on the man's back. It was a picture of a wolf. He finally stopped, and the guards dragged the man to the infirmary. 'Wolf' looked back at Tigress and gave her a look of anger and hate that pierced her soul.
End Flashback
Raven sighed. She could sense Wolf's unrest. She was suffering also. Tigress was her best friend. Tigress had saved her life once and together they had held their own against the testosterone-oozing male assassins. She knew that Wolf and Tigress had had a fling once, right before Tigress left. Wolf was struggling with the fact of killing her as she was.
Flashback
"Raven, you should put on makeup sometime." Tigress remarked, sitting with Raven in her room.
"Like when?" Raven questioned.
"Like now." "But-" In a flash Tigress had slathered every makeup she owned on Raven. Raven had been adorned with green eye shadow, lots of mascara, red lipstick, and blue eyeliner.
"Wonderful!" gushed Tigress, admiring her handiwork.
In their haste they had left the door open. Bear, Hyena and Wolf passed, and stopped, aghast. Hyena cracked up, Bear chuckled and Wolf showed a hint of a smile. Tigress laughed with Hyena and Bear. Raven felt herself blush and began to laugh.
End Flashback
Bear looked at Raven, sitting beside him on the living couch, who was lost in her own thoughts. He stopped cleaning his gun and looked out the window. Rain was pouring down and thunder rumbled. He grunted, wishing the sun would shine for once. An impossible dream, he told himself. He had never been close to Tigress. But he had been the one who suggested she leave.
Flashback
It was a night like this and no one was up. Bear was cleaning his gun, his usual, late-night-can't-sleep practice. He put the gun back in its case and slid it into the weapons closet. He was going up the stairs until he heard something drop in the bathroom. He went to the bathroom, making sure it wasn't an intruder. He saw light was on under the door. He tried the doorknob; it wasn't locked. He pushed it open, wondering what in God's name somebody would be doing up this late. Tigress sat on the sink looking at something that looked like a thermometer. The box to a home pregnancy kit lay discarded on the floor.
He was speechless. Tigress saw him and said "It's not ready yet."
"What's not ready?" he asked.
"The test." She breathed in sharply. "If it's positive, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Slade will make me put it up for adoption."
"Who…" he started.
"Wolf."
He almost choked. "I'm not sure if I can look at the test results," she whispered, when the test beeped, signaling its conclusion had been reached, "Can you read it for me?"
Bear clumsily took it. The screen had a little plus on it. He felt all his mouth dry up and he opened and closed his mouth, like a fish out of water. She saw this and began to cry.
"What am I going to do? I want my baby," she whispered, shedding a tear.
"Run," Bear said simply. "Take an alias, hide in the slums, and raise the child. Slade'll never find you."
A week later, she had it all arranged. That night when everyone had gone to bed, Bear piled her luggage into a waiting cab, to take her some place far from here. She was ready to start her new life. She waved back at Bear, and he watched the cab ramble away into the dark.
End Flashback
Hyena sharpened his swords, preparing for tomorrow's attack. He sighed. Tigress had been a friend, who didn't dismiss him like Raven, disrespect him like Wolf, chase after him like Mamba, or ignore him like Bear sometimes did. When she had left he had felt a deep personal loss. But he had to do it. Slade had ordered him to. He didn't want a picture of a hyena branded onto his back with a blazing poker.
Flashback
"And then the monkey said 'You're bananas!'" Hyena finished, letting the punchline soak in.
"That was a true waste of my time," said Raven, in her monotone voice. Bear rolled his eyes.
"Well let's see you do better!" snapped Hyena defensively.
"I liked that, Hyena," Tigress giggled, "It was very funny!" Hyena smiled. At least someone enjoyed his jokes.
"Wipe that smile off your face, you idiot. That was the stupidest thing I ever heard. So shut the hell up for once, Hyena." Wolf growled. Everyone stared at him, 1., because he talked, 2., because he had just said something very cruel to the well-meaning Hyena.
Tigress looked over at Hyena. He looked like he had just been slapped. "Do you live to crush Hyena's soul?" she yelled, warrior-woman mode taking over.
"Yeah, that was pretty mean…" agreed Bear. Raven nodded.
Wolf, stood up, and gave Bear and Raven looks of disgust. He glared at Tigress with a look that made even Raven shiver. "Why do stick up for this clown?" he asked walking away.
"Because 'this clown' is my friend, which is more than I can say for you!" she shouted at the retreating figure.
"Wo-oo-ww, y-you just stood up to W-Wolf." Hyena stammered.
"Well, someone had to do it."
End Flashback
Mamba didn't know what everyone was depressed about. This was the happiest day of her life. They would kill Tigress, the slut who had always overshadowed her.
And so our story begins…..
I hoped you like it! I want 5 reviews before I post my next chapter. I will be adding an epilogue to my story Total Eclipse soon. Until next time, ciao! Please review!