Disclaimer: I do not, never have, and never will own the Teen Titans or any other registered trademarks of DC Comics.
Chapter 3
Gosh it was good. It had been so long since he had a good slice pizza. It wasn't the best stuff he had ever had, but it still tasted delicious. He took another sip of his gigantic soda and watched the table of misfits with curiosity like most other people were doing. He had never seen a group of people do so many things at once. They were only talking and eating, like everyone else, but it was what they were talking about that got his attention. They were arguing, laughing, complaining, flirting maybe, and insulting each other all at once.
"… for the last time the apocalypse is not upon us." the pale one said in a flat monotone voice. She instantly reminded him of the Goths that he knew in High School that everybody made fun of. She seemed a little different though, kinda seemed familiar in a strange way. When he thought of whom she reminded him of, he immediately dismissed it knowing there was no way the two could have anything in common.
"How do you know? This is one of the signs, the end is nigh! What are we going to do?" replied a short green kid. He reminded him of an elf, an elf that never shut up and just from here he wanted to punch him in the face. He liked having a joker around him to relieve the tension every once in a while, but this kid took it to far.
"Please friends, what is this catastrophe you speak of? Did we not avoid the end already?" asked a tall red head. She was cute, he could get past the green eyes and the fact she could probably kick his butt. However, she was too… nice. Her naïve manner got on his nerves.
"It's nothing Starfire, just some old religious prophecy." replied a medium build kid with greased black hair and a mask. He could tell from the start that this guy was the leader of the group. He seemed competent enough in that capacity, but the fact that he seemed so uptight got on his nerves a little. Uptight, and obsessive, he might be able to use that to his advantage.
"Yeah, it's just some weirdo running around trying to prove to himself that he's a tough guy." said the half robot while he shoveled food into his mouth. This made him smile slightly. Who knows? Maybe he was right, maybe he was trying to prove that deep down inside, he was a tough guy, but that really didn't matter.
All things considered they seemed like a nice enough group of kids. Pity he would have to fight them. Their conversation continued for several more minutes. Satisfied that there was nothing else to learn from the group, he paid the tip to the waitress and got up to leave.
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"Ugh, I'm stuffed." said Beast Boy as he rubbed his stomach. The T-Car rode through the city streets towards the Island.
Much everybody else was thinking the exact same thing. This caused a truly phenomenal moment, nobody said a word. Before anybody could ruin this though, they were all distracted by the sound of an explosion.
Raven sighed, "Just one of those days I suppose."
The noise had come from their right down the street.
"Cyborg, you know what to do." Robin said.
"On it" he replied and took a sharp turn down the street they had heard the noise from.
The team pulled up in front of a bank with smoke pouring out of its front windows. They all got out of the car and walked towards the shattered glass door.
"Ok, we don't know who it is, so be ready for anything." Robin said.
What happened next was totally unexpected though.
"Help me!" came a voice from inside.
"Titans, go!" Robin yelled but before any body moved Starfire held up her hand.
"Wait, does that voice not sound, familiar?" she asked.
Everybody stopped and listened.
"He's going to kill me!" came the same frantic voice.
"Mumbo Jumbo!" everybody said at once.
Sure enough, the blue magician came stumbling out the door, his hand clutched around his right arm. "You gotta help me! Please, I'll never steal again I swear, just stop him!" he said as he ran up and hid behind Cyborg.
"Uh, pal, were here to take you to jail." said Cyborg.
"Fine, I'll go to jail, just keep him away from me!" he pleaded.
"Who?" asked Raven.
"Me" came a voice from the bank.
What emerged was like nothing they had ever seen. A mounted rider on a horse emerged from the bank, but not the shadows. He was, black. Not skin color black, though this was impossible to tell since they could not see his skin, but his whole appearance was dark. His horse was black, he was dressed in solid black cloths, gloves, boots, and a black Kevlar helmet. His shirt and pants were hard to see, but they looked a lot like the kind of uniforms SWAT teams wore, solid black and full of pockets. His face was hidden in shadow and smoke, despite the street lights that were near by. The only color that came from him was the glowing red pupils of his horse and the glimmer from the sword he held at his side.
"Who are you!" demanded Robin.
"My name… is not important, only my mission." he replied in a deep gravely voice.
"Then what's you mission tough guy?" Cyborg retorted.
"Much the same as yours, to help get rid of the criminal menace." the horseman replied.
"Please! He'll kill me if you let him get near me, I beg you keep him away." stuttered Mumbo form behind Cyborg.
"We appreciate your help, but your methods seem a little, extreme." Robin said to the strange figure.
"You wandered why your criminals keep escaping and committing the same crimes over and over again, did it ever occur to you that your being to easy on them? Let me show this sad excuse for a human being what true justice is like, and I'll guarantee that he never dreams of committing another crime as long as he lives." the stranger said as he gestured towards Mumbo Jumbo.
"Sorry, but I don't think I like what you have in store for Mumbo here, no matter how much he deserves it." Robin said as he took out his bo staff.
"It is unfortunate that you do not approve of my methods, for now I will have to fight through you to get to my victim." said the horseman as he reached for his hip with his left hand. While still clutching his sword with his right hand, they saw him draw out a semi-automatic pistol and heard the distinct clicking noise as the hammer was drawn back.
"Please, we do not wish to fight you stranger. If you just wait, we may still find a peaceful solution to this dilemma of ours." pleaded Starfire floating above the others.
"Sorry, but the time for talk has gone." and with that he took aim and started shooting at the Titans.
The Titans had no problem with bullets, they were used to dealing with far more lethal weapons. So they had easily dodged/blocked all of the metal projectiles. Raven blocked them with her shield, Stafire and robin dodged them, while Beast Boy turned into a mosquito. Cyborg never even flinched, they just bounced off his body armor.
After using up a magazine of ammunition, the dark figure holstered his weapon. "I figured this would do me little good against you, all as well, I would be disappointed if it did hurt you. Never the less, I'll have to use more conventional methods." And with that he kicked the flanks of his horse. The horse reared up on two legs and let out a loud whinny. Flames erupted from its nostrils and then it sped forward. Its rider gripped the reins in his left hand and his sword in the right. He charged straight for Mumbo who was by now running away at full speed.
Robin leapt in the horse's path and just at the last moment he spun to the side and swung his bo staff at the rider in an overhead move. Before the staff could make contact though, the rider swung his sword into the staff and the two meet with a metallic clash. Robin watched as the rider continued past him and then looked at his staff. He stared wide eyed where the sword had cut straight through the metal and now had only a half length staff.
The rider continued on at full gallop until a green elephant stepped in his way.
"Out of my way!" the rider yelled. By this time Mumbo was well down the street and almost out of sight in the darkness.
"You're going no where buddy." Cyborg said as he let loose a sonic cannon blast. The rider saw it coming, and raised his sword like he was going to block a punch. The blue beam hit the sword and was reflected to a nearby building. "How'd you do that?" asked the half machine in disbelief.
"Why should I tell you?" was the only reply as he turned and ran around the giant elephant. He then came to a halt looking into the night. "He's gone. My prey has gotten away." he said sounding agitated.
"Good for him, but your not going to be so lucky." Robin said as the rest of the Titans circled around him.
"If I can't get the person I came for, I'll have to settle for you people instead." and with that he galloped forward. Starfire let out a barrage of starbolts, Cyborg shot at him with his cannon, Robin threw bird-a-rangs, yet they all seemed to miss. Raven was picking up everything she could find on the street. Cars, mailboxes, light posts, and sent them flying at the stranger. He managed do dodge all of those too.
"I may not be able to hit you with my cannon, but boy will I with my fist!" Cyborg said as he threw a punch at the rider. The horse reared up at the last moment and instead his fist impacted with the chest of the animal. Both horse and rider fell down in a gigantic heap. Walking over to the fallen rider Cyborg leapt back as the he stood.
"You're gonna pay for that." he said as he walked towards Cyborg. Cyborg threw another punch at him but it never made contact. The stranger raised his sword and cut right threw the mechanical hand of his opponent. Cyborg's hand fell to the ground, loose wires at the end sparking.
"I think you have had enough fun with that weapon of yours, lets see how you fight without it." Raven said. A black aurora surrounded the blade and it began to tug at the rider's hand. He simply yanked hard on it and the aurora vanished.
"But… that can't be possible." Raven said. For one of the few moments in her life, everybody could easily see her emotions displayed on her face.
The rider held the sword in his hand, closely looking at it like he was inspecting it for scratches.
"Tell me, where do you get your powers from?" the rider asked quietly.
"Why do you want to know?" replied Raven.
He stood there for a moment, saying nothing, but looking like he was in deep thought.
"Uh, are we still going to have to kick your butt, or do you give up?" asked Beast Boy.
The stranger snapped his head coming out of whatever thought he was in. "Neither" was his only reply. His horse staggered back up and he went over to mount it.
"Stop, you have hurt my friends and must not be allowed to leave unpunished." Starfire said as she floated in front him, eyes glowing. For a minute he sat there unmoving, as if considering his next move.
"My work is through here." and with that he made an overhand swiping movement with his sword at Starfire. She quickly dodged to the left only to receive a foot in the stomach. It knocked her to the side only a foot or so, but it was enough to open up a path for the horseman. He galloped of down the street and around a corner.
"After him, don't let him escape!" Robin yelled as everybody followed. Yet when they turned the same corner that he had went behind moment earlier, there was nothing but an empty street.