Upon reading my own chapter, I've reached a verdict, it stinks! If you're reading this, do your brains a favor, DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT read this chapter, it's plainly dumb! No fluff here, just mindless action, I needed to close the Slade issue before moving on to the fluffiness. Please do not read it!
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No replies this chapter guys and girls. I've decided to make a 100 reviews special in the next chapter or the one after him…anyway, no more replies until I get 100 reviews! Deal with it!
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Disclaimer: I don't own the…Bla, Bla, Bla…I mean; I don't own the Teen Titans
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Chapter Ten: One Last Face Off
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"Stupid golfarg" Mumbled a shivering Starfire. She was on her way from Titans Tower to the clothing district and the storm that raged outside didn't help her much. She was already soaked with water and the cold winds that blew at the altitude she was flying at made her freeze, every cell in her body screamed that she should come back and put something warm, but she didn't, no matter how cold it was, she had to keep going. "For Robin" she thought and increased her speed. To keep herself from constantly thinking of the cold, Starfire let her mind drift away on thoughts of Robin, but every time she tried to remember of his voice, it sounded unlike his, it was distorted, dark, almost mechanical, "Much like the Red-X's voice" said her mind. She didn't understand why did she keep remembering his voice, he was not like Robin, he was bad, a criminal and he tried to hurt her. Yet, she felt comfortable when the talked to him at the med-lab, he made her fell wanted, not strange "Come to think of it, just like Robin did when I came here first". Starfire's first days on earth came to her memory, she remembered how it felt to move to a new place and know nothing about its culture and ways. Although the titans accepted her with a warm loving attitude, each in their special way, she still felt like the outsider, away from everyone else and it was Robin who made her feel as a friend, not caring about her strange Tamaranian customs.
"And what is this 'pizza', friend Robin?" she inquired, looking at the strange triangular slice
"It's good Starfire, you should try it" he replied and took a bite of his slice. Looking aside, he saw Starfire rubbing the slice against her cheek
"You are correct, it is good" she said, smiling an innocent smile. Robin raised an eyebrow and bottled his laugh. He took a napkin and wiped her cheek
"You're supposed to eat it" he explained kindly. Starfire quickly turned red and took a small bite of her pizza.
"I fail to understand myself, I already know I love Robin, then why am I having such odd thought about the Red-X?"
A loud roaring noise released Starfire off her trance, to her bottom right she saw the R-Jet, piloted by none other than Red-X. The young Tamaranian pulled out her communicator and activated it
"Red-X, Robin will not be pleased knowing you were flying his aircraft" she exclaimed
"Fine, look at me, see if I care" he gestured a customary salute towards her and blasted forward towards the clothing district, a trail of white vapor trailing behind the R-Jet's wings. Starfire stopped in midair and sighed
"You are insisting on choosing the hardest way to achieve your goal, why?" she asked herself and kept on flying.
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The sound of metal crashing against another metal filled Robin's ears; he quickly jumped up to avoid Slade's kick and lightning flashed. Landing when thunder boomed across the skies, The Boy Wonder sent a stream of punches towards Slade's face. The madman blocked then with ease, but was surprised to feel Robin's steel-tipped boot sinking into his stomach. He skidded back on the wet floor and lounged at Robin with his Bo-staff first, the Titan swept low, avoiding the lethal swing. Robin stood up and scanned his field of vision for Slade, lightning flashed and The Boy Wonder saw the shadow of the figure standing behind him, Robin turned and caught Slade's fist with his left hand, but the madman was stronger, Slade twisted Robins arm back, making him give a short painful scream, but he let his guard down, in his own over-confidence he didn't notice the small yellow disc Robin held between his index finger and his middle finger. The flash-bang exploded at Slade's face, blinding him, Slade let out a silent groan and released his grip on Robin's hand, giving Robin enough time to twist into a roundhouse kick, sending it do Slade's head, Slade crashed against the cold wet concrete, creating small fractures in the grey material. He got up and jumped high into the air, coming down with a tremendous diving kick, Robin leaped aside and Slade's blow made yet another crack in the ground. Slade didn't give up; he swung his Bo-staff low, smashing it against Robin's knee. The Boy Wonder shrieked and jumped back on an instinct, kneeling on one leg and rubbing his knee, groaning, he pulled off another jump, avoiding another swing.
"Offence Robin, offence!" screamed his mind, but Slade acted faster, he struck Robin down and put his foot on his chest, crushing him against the cold wet cement , inching his Bo-staff towards The Boy Wonder's neck
"A bit clichéd, I know" Slade drew a heavy sigh "But, any last words?" Robin grinned and narrowed his eyes
"Just two, TITANS! GO!" the yellow cord was shot between Slade's legs and Robin bolted between then, locking both his legs around the madman's left leg and hurling him towards the air. The roaring thunder dimmed the sound Robin's legs made as they smashed against Slade's mask, but it didn't numb the soaring pain both fighters felt. Robin stood on top of a small statue, eyes narrowing towards Slade's figure whereas the madman himself just stood before robin, cackling like a jackal
"What's so funny?" asked Robin, muscles flexing, preparing to fend off a sneak attack
"Take a look to your left" said Slade's cold voice, Robin's vision gilded aside to see his teammates losing, badly. A four to six battle under these conditions was not one bit of fair.
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Blasts of yellow danced along the floor, forcing the six assassins to take a few steps back, the flash of crimson screamed over the group's head and made a wide circle, preparing for another diving run. Cyborg recognized it on the spot, it was the R-Jet, he used that momentary distraction and went on the offensive, bombarding the mercenaries with sonic energy, but the next event caught him unprepared, two lines of green explosions ripped though the pavement, blasting the sex back to a painful meeting with the concrete. On the opposite side, stood a raging Starfire
"You will leave my friends alone!" she demanded, eyes burning green
"Spike, Tina, Topper, take it to the air!" commanded the lead assassin, three of them sprouted black metallic wings and blasted into the cold air with a roar. Two went after Starfire and one followed the R-Jet
"Slowpokes" muttered Red-X as he noticed the stream of bullets appearing under his right wing. He grabbed the stick and pulled it towards him, the aircraft blasted upwards, the winged assassin close behind him. Red-X pulled a complete flip and dove vertically at an insane speed, the mercenary on his tail, shooting his machine guns
"He's like a bad itch!" commented X as the R-Jet took a sudden turn, the flying man was left wondering where has his opponent gone if he hadn't heard the sound of bullets whizzing behind him, he dove down, right into Red-X's awaiting sights. A sharp tone went through the vigilante's ears and a red "Missile Locked" indicator blinked in front of him
"Catch'Ya later kid" he said before slamming his thumb against the red button on top of the stick. The R-Jet recoiled as a single missile was released from under its left wing, heading towards its target. The explosion was spectacular, coloring the grey skies in a shade of orange and red.
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"Tina, they shot down Spike" went a static voice though one of the assassin's headphones
"We'll go look for her later, meanwhile you'll take the redhead, the Goth is mine" she replied and blasted herself towards Raven, her black long barreled sniper rifle in hand. Looking at Raven eye-to-eye, she raised her rifle and fired off a round
"So pointless" thought Raven, encasing the projectile in black energy, making it drop on the floor. The female assassin stared at her and threw the rifle aside, allowing it to fall all the way to the ground. Two blades of glowing blue energy were drawn from her hands and she looked at the half-demon who stared at her opponent's new weapon
"Energy blades? That's new, but let's kick it up a notch" Raven's hands glowed dark, and were replaced by two long dark blades. Under her gas mask, Tina grinned.
"So you know how to draw melee weapons, doesn't mean you know how to use them" she said, chuckling
"You'll be the judge of that" replied Raven and charged
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"Please. I. mean. You. No. Harm!" uttered Starfire while dodging bursts of flames. Her opponent, named Topper, was apparently a pyromaniac. He shot bursts of flames towards Starfire, from two flamethrowers mounted on his forearms. Again and again, flames lashed towards the young Tamaranian, heating the air around her. Starfire dived down, Topper after her, his flamethrowers roaring fire towards her body. On her way down, Starfire powered up her Star-bolts and turned a hard one-eighty degrees turn, bombarding the air with green energy. Topper swerved violently between the hot bursts of energy, but there were too many of them, one hit his left wing, making it catch fire. The winged assassin was plummeting towards the ground, fast, but his training didn't fail him, the last lesson he learned was that "If you're going down, take them with you" he sought out a target and homed in on the R-Jet which was in mid air, flipping to get a good angle on the three assassins still on the ground. Topper bolted towards the jet and closed his eyes, awaiting sweet redemption. Collision, Topper's napalm tanks ignited, creating a huge explosion
"What the…" Red-X didn't finish his sentence when the R-Jut was engulfed with orange and red flames. The explosion was horrible, time stood still for a moment as the fires roared into the black rainy sky, spewing the twisted remains of the R-Jet towards the ground. Starfire gasped with shock, she knew no one could survive that explosion, not even Red-X Looking towards the ground, she saw the black bundle plummeting towards the ground, Red-X's cape. She flew as fast as she could, grabbing his body with both her hands
"Great" muttered a dazed Red-X "Just great"
"What is great?" she asked innocently
"I didn't make it, didn't I?" he asked weakly
"You certainly did" she replied
"Well if I'm not dead, how can I see an angel like you?" (A/N: That was SO LAME! Sorry about that!) He asked softly. Starfire blushed and rushed towards the ground, placing him gently on the wet grass that was near the fight. He laid there, a mixture of green grass and black fabric, groaning
"You will be okay, correct?" she asked, eyes large
"Yeah, takes a lot more than a plane crash to stop Red-X" he replied, groaning once again
"Rest now, I will be back for you soon" she said, flying again towards the battle field.
"I got a score to settle first" he said, getting up and heading after her.
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A gasping Robin collapsed on the floor, air barely entering his lungs. He breathed deeply, but only little air got in, he tried getting up, but collapsed to the ground, pounding his fist in a small puddle, he raised his head to meet Slade's mask. Robin coughed and flattened on the ground, his face flat in the water, he couldn't breathe "Boy Wonder drowns to death in a two inch puddle, such a fitting end" he thought. Slade picked him up by his hair and his mask met Robin's face, The Boy Wonder tried to punch him, but his hand merely dangled forward.
"What have you done to me?!" he demanded, gasping for air
"I believe you are familiar with Curare, correct?" asked Slade, grinning evilly under his mask. Robin's eyes grew wide
"You poisoned me?" asked Robin weakly
"More like you poisoned yourself, Boy Wonder. You see Robin, my suit has been covered with a thin layer of Curare and by attacking me, you inserted it into your body" he explained to Robin who was struggling for each and every breath of air, the lethal poison already making its way to his respiratory system.
"You can feel the poison in your system can't you Robin? Shutting down your muscles, closing on your heart, you can feel your heart slowing down can't you? Beat, beat, beat. It's only a matter of time before it'll stop to Robin, and then, I will win" said Slade coldly. Robin began laughing; it wasn't a normal laugh, or even a hysterical one, it was a maniacal, crazed laughter
"You…have gotta be the biggest loser we've ever encountered" he said, still chuckling. Slade punched his face with his other hand, but Robin was still laughing
"The biggest loser? Perhaps you are mistaking, I just defeated you" mocked the mastermind. Robin barely managed to force a grin on his lips
"One, you couldn't even beat me with your own skills, you always couldn't, not even when you were invincible and two, look behind you" upon hearing these three words, Slade turned his head around, only to face the white skull painted on Red-X's sole. The kick blasted Slade towards the round statue, crashing his back on it, he dropped to the floor.
"You've been X-terminated" hissed Red-X and looked at Robin, who laid on the floor, twitching, gasping for precious oxygen
"You don't look so good kid" commented Red-X, standing over Robin's body
"S…Sec…Second p…pocket…to…to…the left" muttered Robin between one gasp to another. Red-X leaned towards him and pulled a small syringe out of The Boy Wonder's utility belt. He looked at the purple fluid inside and shifted his eyes towards Robin
"Ah, what the heck, you scratched my back, I'll scratch yours" he said while driving the sharp needle into Robin's neck, thrusting the antidote into his main artery. Robin soon began moving. He looked aside and saw Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven wiping out the rest of the assassins, Lisa and Starfire were far from the group and were discussing something amongst themselves. Starfire gestured her hands forward and Lisa nodded, making Starfire jump up and hug her. She then floated slowly towards Red-X, who was bust fixing his cape
"Um…Red-X?" she said, startling him
"Yeah cutie, what is it?"
"Would…would you like to become a fellow Teen Titan?" she asked hopefully, eyes sparkling
"What?!" screamed Robin, making the young Tamaranian jump up in shock "There is absolutely no way I'll agree-"
"No" replied Red-X coldly, making both Robin and Starfire to turn towards him
"What do you mean 'no'? She just asked you to become a Teen Titan and you refused" raged Robin
"I have my reasons kid"
"Like what?"
"For starters, I told you some people don't like to play hero, and second, I'll never be pushed around by you, Kid"
"Oh, so now you're too good for me huh? Is that what you're saying?"
"I said what I needed; you can take it any way you like"
"Doesn't matter, you don't even cut it to be Titan material" said Robin while turning away
"Oh, so now I'm too weak to be a Titan huh?" replied an irritated Red-X
"Yeah, you are"
"So I guess you don't remember who kicked who's butt at the Xenothium vault, right?"
"I do remember, I remember wiping the floor with you until Chang's 'moon-men' arrived"
"You remember wrong kid; those moon-men saved your life"
"Oh yeah? Well who saved you at Chang's observatory?" Red-X's eyes narrowed at Robin's comment
"I didn't need your help, and if there wasn't for me, you'd be a smudge on his-" he raged
"Whatever" interrupted Robin "You wouldn't have lasted as a Titan for even a week" he said, now walking towards the group
"Is that a dare?" replied the thief
"What if it is?"
"Then maybe I'm willing to take it"
"Okay, I'll bet you won't even last for a week as a Teen Titan"
"I'll take that bet"
"Fine, come to the tower so we can discuss your initiation"
"Fine"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!" said Robin, now walking towards the R-Jet "I'll be expecting you in an hour" he closed the canopy and took off, heading towards the tower. The remaining Titans were at a complete state of shock, Raven was the first to snap out of it
"Okay…what on earth just happened?" she asked, rubbing her head
"Beats me" Replied Beast Boy
"No clue" joined Cyborg
"Too fast for me, sugar" said Lisa
"I presume Red-X is now a new member of the Teen Titans?" tried a clueless Starfire, Robin's and Red-X's argument was too fast for the human (Or Tamaranian" mind to comprehend. But it seems as though Red-X was also confused, he just kept standing there, staring into space
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire I guess" he thought when his logic took over, already thinking of a way to benefit from this bet, he was surprised by Beast Boy's loud question
"And how the heck are we supposed to get to the tower?!" he cried out
"Well, I guess that pile of scrap metal over there used to be the T-car, the kid took off in his jet. Anyone got some spare change for the bus?" asked Red-X. The remaining five teens stared at him. Immediately, Raven took off, Beast Boy morphed into an eagle and followed her. Cyborg and Lisa crossed their hands and walked away and only Starfire and X remained
"Guess it's just you and me cutie" he said, grinning under his mask
"I am pleased that you have decided to join our team Red-X, but walking all that distance? That would be as you humans say 'a down right waste of time'" she floated slowly and followed Raven and Beast Boy
"Alone again, what a surprise. Well, bet I'll get there faster than you" he said to himself and pressed the middle of his belt, teleporting away, leaving a black blur behind him.
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Slade got up, shaking his head to drive the cob-web away, he looked at his surroundings, he remembered what happened, Robin, and "Red-X…" he got up and walked away, mumbling
"Another day Robin…Another day"
Author Notes:
I warned you back at the beginning of the chapter didn't I? , another pointless chapter, this one really sucks, I hate it. Please don't read it, and if you had, erase it out of your memory. I just needed to close all the loose ends with Slade. Next chapter is fluffs-vile, promise! Please review, and don't flame.
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