My Enemy…
Alexnandru Van Gordon
I have been seriously meaning to change my title from 'the enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine' because that is just so long and stupid and corny and…I could go on. And for those of you who know my cousin, Victor—you can thank him for the continuation of this story. I have no idea where I was going with this but, what the heck, why not wing it? If it hadn't automatically popped up after I fixed Word I would have forgotten it even existed…
Last Time: Oh—and I know you're all pretty peeved at me, but you might want to backtrack if you forgot the plot. BB and CYBORG were heading down one tunnel toward the main room, RAVEN and STARFIRE in another (both teams defeating the Ice King's—and why did I pick that name?—Icemen…people-like…guards with strange ease). SPEEDY, SLADE and ROBIN split up in the basement with Speedy and Slade going off to set the detonation while Robin found a small underground river with a motorboat in the dark. He wonders if it belongs to the King's supposed partner…
CHAPTER FOUR: The twist
"Wow…a light at the end of the tunnel." Beast Boy mused, tired and cranky from all the fighting as he trudged on along after Cyborg. "Why do I get that animal instinct of danger ahead?"
"Because you're cold, always annoying, and really starting to get on my nerves." Cyborg muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the green changeling. "Man, lighten up. You look like you're guilty of some crime."
He glared at the robots marching beside him and his teammate. "It's called suspicion, and yeah…since when did a major villain help us this much?" He poked at one of the slade-bots and eyed it curiously when it didn't react. "Dude—weren't these things originally programmed to kill us or something…?"
"I know you hate doing this job as much as I do, but as soon as we save the rest of the Titans East and get this Ice guy behind bars—you can blow up as many of these tin men as you want to."
How he would blow them up in the first place was beyond his understanding—sounded more like something Robin would do—but he would make sure to put as much distance as he could between him and the robotic army for as long as he could manage. Slade would attack sooner or later, but hopefully it would be the latter of the two.
"Yeah, yeah—the enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine, but that still doesn't mean they're not an enemy."
Cyborg sighed at the comment, inwardly agreeing with his worried companion. The only place the Titans wanted Slade to go was behind bars—on some remote island where no one would ever find—or save—him. The man was full of unexpected (and unwanted) surprises, each one shoving the thorn further into their sides. It was doing quite the number on their leader's stress level and worse for their morale…What happens when every villain they come across becomes unbeatable?
"Looks like we're here…" Cyborg said, stepping closer to the opening in the dark tunnel. Shading his eyes with one hand, he stepped into the main room, squinting. "Beast Boy, it's—"
Then he gasped.
-Ra-
"Are we almost there?" Starfire asked, levitating lazily in the air next to Raven as they continued down the tunnel. If it led to the main room then Raven would have to call Cyborg and the others on their communicators to lead them to the Ice King's location, but something deep inside her warned her to turn back. The atmosphere was…uneasy…
"Just give it a minute, Star." She sighed. "And get ready in case of another attack."
"So cold…" The alien girl murmured, hands rubbing each arm.
Even Raven had to admit the temperature was doing a number on her speed and strength. After all, it was palace made of ice. She moved slower than she wanted to and even chanting in the back of her mind couldn't keep away the chilly sting of the cold. She wanted nothing more than to complete the mission and get home ASAP, brew up some tea while she was at it…
"Perhaps we should hurry?" Star suggested; flying faster than what the robots on foot could keep up to at first. "What if the others are already there?"
True. They would obviously want to have back up if they ran into any trouble and this frigged place the others would be troubled as well. It made her think if it was really such a good idea to have Robin tag along. After all, he was pretty sick and that didn't happen too often…
"Finally…" She sighed quietly to herself, squinting as the light blinded her momentarily. "We're—"
She halted immediately in mid-air when she entered the room, Starfire almost colliding into her from behind. There…what…
"This was most unexpected…"
Raven nodded. "Only partially…"
-R-
Curiosity was a wicked thing when you had many enemies and a knack for getting yourself into danger…especially for him. He knew his time was limited before Slade or Speedy returned and who knew when the so-called partner would show up? He suspected Slade…but that could just be his obsessive self. If he could make up excuses for the man to go to hell, he'd have a couple thousand…
Checking over his shoulder for anyone in the dark, he stepped down into the boat and began to look around. A few small crates, weight-height to him, sat at the back of the boat, covered with a blue tarp. Throwing it off, his eyes widened.
WAYNEENTERPRISES
WARNING: Handle with care. Contains highly explosive material.
"Wonder where that came from…" He muttered angrily. What better time to loot the city then when it was frozen over? No one was around to stop them or report anything from the Wayne Enterprises branch that the crates were stolen.
Reaching to his utility belt, he slipped out a batarang and held it on the edge of the lid. Sliding the blade under and pulling up, the lid popped off and fell beside his feet as he gazed down at the stolen material.
Row after row of long cylinder cases sat piled in the box, a rich red liquid possessive a slight glow filling each one.
…Xinothium?
Highly explosive alright…Couldn't let anyone take a walk with this.
"Damn thieves…" He reached to his belt for his communicator. "Something always goes wrong—"
"And it always gets worse."
He spun around and threw the birdarang in his hand, frowning when he dodged. Why wasn't he surprised? Who else would want to steal Xinothium?
"You should watch where you chuck those things…You could really hurt someone." X stood casually calm on the dock, arms crossed as he stared after the weapon until it disappeared into the darkness. The whsping sound died down gently and he returned his attention back to the Boy Wonder. "Then again, you seem to be lacking in aim—oomphf!" Head first, he started falling forward, but corrected himself as he cart-wheeled his arms. The birdarang dropped behind him after colliding with the back of his head, Robin grinning at the first hit.
"It returns."
"I never figured you for a cheater. Then again, you are an obsessive detective."
"Which prompts the first question—what do you plan to do with Xinothium if you don't have the belt?" He took another birdarang from his belt. "I thought you knew how to add."
"I'm not that stupid, Boy Wonder. And you look pale." He titled his head to one side. "Stress getting to be too much for you?"
Damn flu…
"No answer? That's fine. We can leave the chit chat for later…" Red reached to his own belt, a make-shift of his own design in place of the Xinothium fueled one. From there he pulled a small silver sphere. "Right now there's work to be done."
"What—" He was interrupted when Red threw the sphere to his feet, a thick cloud of white smoke erupting from the small explosive. It spread out over the boat and lake like a sailor's mist and blinded him from far sight instantly. He could barely see his own hands, let alone breathe.
Coughing he waved the cloud away from his face, trying to find his way to the dock. Red wouldn't run. The thief's ego wouldn't allow for him to head tails right when the Xinothium was out where he could get it. Not to mention Red wanted to get back at Robin just as much as the hero wanted to get back at him.
Running wasn't an option.
Something hit the boat and it rocked heavily. Caught off balance, Robin stepped around and held onto the boat railing as it slowed to a halt. Well…at least Red was on the boat, but perhaps fighting on water wasn't the best of ideas, especially with a bunch of Xinothium on board.
Pulling out his bo-staff he extended the end and waited perfectly still until he could see something, returning his communicator to his belt. The mist would die eventually. He just had to wait for…
Something black was seen in a swirl of mist, moved by the air in motion. It was gone as soon as it came but Robin struck out all the same. He nearly hit something, until, of course, something hit him first. Instead of striking down his target something harder connected with the back of his head and he fell to the ground with an awful thud. Rolling on his back he expected to see Red, but as the clouds cleared…
"Curiosity hurts, Robin." Slade droned out. "I thought you would have known that by now."
He was on his feet the moment he saw him, bo-staff held ready again. He knew he was right not to trust the man, but why would that be? Let's see…murderer, thief, kidnapper, evil mastermind…
"Yeah, but satisfaction heals all."
"Is that so?" Hands placed behind his back, Slade looked him over with his one eye. "You're going to fight? Perhaps it would have been for the best had you stayed home."
"Not with my team here." He snapped. "Not with you here either."
"Hm…trust is such a hard thing to create."
Enough chat. "Where are the Titans East? Something tells me finding them won't be convenient."
"You're right in saying that…" Slade's eye moved over Robin's shoulder. "But you'll be seeing much of them soon."
He barely had time to turn around before he saw, and remembered, X. The thief landed a sure blow to Robin's forehead and his head snapped back as he went flying with the force. Colliding with his worst enemy, the world suddenly darkened…
-Sp-
He knew the Boy Wonder had a knack for getting into trouble, but he at least thought the kid would stay and watch the evil android army of four left by the basement entry. When he returned the only thing he found was the robots and Robin's jacket and scarf left by the machine, soaking wet from the melting ice.
"Tell me you didn't vaporize him." He arched an eyebrow behind his mask. "And don't tell me he melted either..."
None of the four answered, all stiff as stone. He began to wonder why they were even there (probably to fight if Robin went loco), and was about to ask when someone called out behind him.
"Finished, I see."
He didn't exactly trust Slade in the beginning, but his curiosity began to stir now that Robin was nowhere to be found. With his luck, the kid was probably wandering around somewhere trying to find the lost clues no one else cared to find. It made sense, and it would be a convenient excuse…
"Where's, Robin?"
He was about to ask that question, but he could keep his suspicions in the dark for a while longer. "Don't ask me. I just got here."
Slade spotted the jacket and scarf, staring at them for a while before he turned toward his androids. "Where is he?" He asked.
One of the four turned his head, staring back the way they came.
"Off to help his friends is my best guess." Then the man turned toward the large machine. "My work is far from finished here. Perhaps you should warn them to leave before I set this off."
Robin off to fight with his friends…somehow that didn't sound like too good of an idea, considering how sick he was. And then there was going to be a flood. Normally Speedy would call them on the communicator, but his only connected with those of the other East members. To communicate with the original Titans he'd have to use the computer at his tower which was…currently frozen over and coated in ice.
If Robin would have stayed he could have used Boy Wonders.
"Fighting freak." He muttered under his breath and started at a quick sprint back up the small slope into the darkness. Maybe if he hurried he could get the others out of their before Slade acted like his usual villain self again and set off the melting machine with them still in their…
-A-
Hmmm…If anyone actually reads this then I guess I'll continue. It was a nice change of plot after Not Again and Blast…which reminds me of what I have to do next. And I'm sorry if this chapter was boring…Wow, I really have nothing important to say. It's almost nine a.m. so…I guess I should get ready for class…yep…bye…
Until Again,
Alexnandru Van Gordon