Part 27
Arsenal jumped from rooftop to rooftop, watching the t-car go up and down the streets. The headlights were bright and illuminated dark alleyways. As he ran he pulled a pair of binoculars out and tried to see into the T-Car. It took him several attempts to finally deduce that the only person in the car was Cyborg.
The car began going faster and Arsenal found it harder and harder to keep up with. He pulled out a narrow metallic cone from the inside of his vest, and attached it to a gun he pulled out from his side holster. He attached the cone to the front of the gun and took another glance at the car in front of him. Again it was getting away, but attaching the cone meant his blast was going to go at supersonic speed, although it did mean his blast would be less accurate he figured that he wasn't going to miss the fleeing target.
--
Raven and Beast Boy were flying through the air, Beast Boy as the only green robin the world had ever seen. Raven stopped and motioned for Beast Boy to do the same. She looked down and saw several ambulances zooming down the street. The robin nodded its small head and they began following the sirens.
--
Starfire created some light so her and Jinx could look down a few of the dark alleyways, "We need to go faster," Starfire kept repeating.
Jinx looked at her, "We're going as fast as we can, and we don't even know what we are looking for!"
"We are looking for Robin!" Starfire exclaimed.
"I know that, but we don't exactly have any clues or evidence or anything. What exactly are we following or for that matter doing?"
"Listen you don't know Robin like I do. I know he is not just waiting for us to save him, but he is trying to save himself. I do not want to give up on him, for he would never give up on me."
Jinx pointed at her, "Well that's cause you're his girlfriend, but he wouldn't give a damn about me, so I'm really trying to find a damn reason why the hell I am out here and trying to help you and your friends!"
"Because you are not bad, you deep down want to help."
"You know nothing about me," Jinx turned her back to Starfire.
"Then tell me," Starfire offered.
--
Why were his systems dying? He began pressing random buttons on his dashboard but nothing was initiating, all his systems were down in his car. He opened the car door and looked around. He began searching for any damage.
"I did it."
Cyborg turned around to see a man dressed in black fatigues a gun in hand pointed at the metallic man, "Who are you?" Cyborg moved into a fighting stance.
"The name is Arsenal."
"You know gun shots really don't hurt me," Cyborg glared.
Arsenal tilted his head over towards the t-car, "Looks like it can hurt…. So I wouldn't move if I were you."
Cyborg cringed; if it did that amount of damage to my car it's likely it'll hurt me. Better hit him first! He fired his sonic cannon.
Arsenal grinned and rolled away, on his stomach he fired two shots.
Cyborg jumped behind his car and missed the two blasts; he then lifted his cannon above his dismantled car and fired at his enemy.
Arsenal back flipped away. He then grabbed a fire escape from a building next to him and he swayed the ladder back and forth, and then flipped himself over to the top of a building hoping to grant him enough visibility to hit Cyborg.
Cyborg ducked from another shot. The car is no good, so time to make it something good. He lifted his car up with all his strength and threw it at the building top.
Arsenal's eyes grew wide. He jumped atop the car and propelled himself forward, he shot as he flew and looked for somewhere to land. He grabbed a lamppost and slide down to the ground.
Cyborg heard sirens in the air; unfortunately he didn't see the blast coming at him. His systems failed and he fell to the ground.
--
Raven and Beast Boy looked as the medics looking around but finding nothing. The only evidence of a fight being the t-car upside down on a building top, "What do you think happened?" Beast Boy looked over at Raven.
She crossed her arms, "The same thing that happened to Robin. Cyborg isn't here, and he's not answering his communicator."
"I knew splitting up wasn't the right thing to do," Garfield sighed and shook his head, "First Robin now Cyborg, who knows which one of us could be next."
"There's not going to be a next, I'm going to…."
"You're not doing anything yourself," Beast Boy quickly cut in. "You may be next in line for leadership but we're not splitting up again," He sighed, "I don't want to lose you."
She looked at him, "You're not in command," She put her hood down. "We have an enemy that is obviously taking us down one by one. Now we don't have any leads but there is one thing we do know, one of us will probably be next, but it's likely he won't attack if we're all together. So we have to think of a way to bring him to us."
He sighed and rubbed his chin, thinking. "You want to use one of us as bait?"
She frowned, "That is not a bad plan, but is it worth the risk?"
"Maybe we should group up with Starfire and Jinx and figure this all out?"
"Jinx isn't part of the team," She said in anything but a pleasant tone.
"We're running out of being called a team, we need all the help we can get."
"But how can we trust her?"
"Now that Cyborg is gone she's going to do what it takes to get him back. Just like if you were to go missing I wouldn't stop until I found you," He slammed his fists together.
She looked down, "I don't know how far I would go."
He placed a hand on her shoulder, "You're already trying to find ways to save our friends, I trust that it I were to ever go missing you would try your best to find me, in the end that's the only thing we can trust, that we're all here for each other."
She felt vulnerable and she didn't have that feeling often, "I guess you are right."
He gave her a grin, "Well that would be a first wouldn't it?"
She gave him a small smile instead of a laugh, "Guess it would be."
--
"I'm not cut for doing this good guy stuff," Jinx frowned kneeling down and picking up a piece of glass, "I still don't understand what we are looking for."
"Why are you not cut to be good?" Starfire asked.
"I've been bad for too long, once you're on the other side of the fence, you'd understand."
"Try for understanding now," She flew over and placed a hand on the kneeling girls shoulder.
"It's not easy to make friends out of enemies. Could you see yourself being friends with Slade?"
"There is no good in Slade, there is good in you."
"You don't know anything about me," She snarled.
"On my planet there is an old saying, 'if we don't give a chance to make good then forever will we lose a potential ally.'"
"What is it with all you good guys, you're all too merciful. It makes me wonder how we always lost to you."
"You lost because your intentions were bad, if you tried to do good you can make up for all the bad things you have done."
"There's no atoning for what I have done."
"It is never too late," Starfire smiled.
"Really? It's getting a little late to find Robin."
Starfire instantly nearly crushed the other girls shoulder, "We will find Robin!"
Suddenly her communicator started to beep.
"Starfire here," She looked at Raven's face. "Did you find Robin?" She quickly asked.
"No, but now Cyborg is gone," Raven replied.
Jinx looked over, "Cyborg is gone?"
"Meet us back at the tower, we're going to try and figure out what to do, Raven out."
Jinx stood up, "Cyborg is gone?"
Starfire nodded, "We need to head back to the tower. Do you think now you are willing to make good now?" She gave her a smile, "You care for Cyborg it's not so easy to let the ones you care about be put in harms way. That's what fighting for good is all about. It's about our concerns for others never for ourselves."
--
"Alright let's look at the situation," Raven stood In front of what was remaining of the Titans, and Jinx. "We are now two Titans shorter. First our leader was taken away from us, and now the secondary leader has been taken. If whoever knows about this knows of our hierarchy then I am probably the next target."
- "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Beast Boy quickly announced.
Raven pinched the upper part of her nose, "She liked Beast Boy's commitment and honor to her, but she didn't feel like being a part of his bravery at the moment."
"I have a question," Starfire raised her hand, "How are we sure that these two incidents were done by the same person or persons?"
"We're not," Raven sighed and shrugged slightly, "We aren't certain what exactly happened with Cyborg, and with Robin all we know is that it might have been Speedy who took him, but we have no proof of anything."
She paused, "But the likelihood that it was the same person is pretty likely, it's not everyday we get captured, and most of our enemies are pretty forward about their intentions. The only one who we have trouble feeling out what they have in mind is Slade. And as we know it's hard to destroy Slade." She looked over at Jinx, "Do you have any idea what's going on?"
She shook her head, "No, why would I?" She added defensively.
"Because you once worked for Slade."
She bit her bottom lip, "All I know about Slade is that nothing is as it seems, there is an agenda with everything he does, but he never tries to soil his own hands."
Raven paced, "So as everything points towards Slade there is a strong chance that it's not him doing the acts, so that leaves one other person."
"Speedy?" Starfire asked.
"That is who you saw right?" Raven questioned.
Starfire nodded.
Beast Boy rubbed his head, confused, "So Speedy is working for Slade?"
"Perhaps but all of this guessing isn't going to get us Robin or Cyborg, we need a plan, a good plan."
They all stared at each other.
"How about that bait thing I asked you about earlier?" Beast Boy asked. "What if one of us pretends to be in trouble or alone and then the rest of us can watch and try to nab the guy or gal who's causing all the trouble!"
"It's too dangerous, I don't want any more of us being taken." Raven rubbed her arm, "It's just too dangerous."
"But there are no other plans," Jinx quickly added.
"If it is to get back our friends, then I'll do it!"
Raven looked and just stared as she began to get outnumbered.
--
Robin looked at his friend, his friend that was in complete destruction. All his power was off and without his machines he wasn't human either. Robin slid back against the wall and looked around the station, there was no way out. He tried climbing up the telescope but there is no above exit besides the exact fit of the telescope lens.
Every door that was in the place was locked tight, and there was nothing large enough to throw to make an opening. Maybe if Cyborg wasn't in the way he was he could fashion some way to get out, his sonic cannon might have been enough to get them both out.
Robin began looking over his friend, he wished it were brighter but it was as dark as hell. Robin was familiar with technology- very familiar, but Cyborg's parts were even more advance then what he was used to. He began trying to look for a way to bring his friend back to life and to bring hope of an escape.
-end of part 27