Chapter Fourteen: Titans Go!
Red-X whirled around. The woman from yesterday smiled down at him "Well, well, well, you must be Red-X. I've heard a lot about you."
"I gather that was when I was a thief." Red-X said glancing at the canyon. He cursed silently and eyed the communicator between the woman's feet
"Naturally, everyone knew who you were. But I must say I'm a bit disappointed. You could've been on of the best in the business." the woman started to circle him
"Being a thief didn't pay much. Besides it's not a picnic trying to evade the police all the time." X said watching the woman warily
"It pays for me." the woman stopped and cupped X's cheek. The teen shuddered "You're a smart kid X. Is there any way I could convince you to join me?" her hand trailed down his face and arm coming to rest on his belt
"No." X replied jerking away
"But-." a blast of yellow light flew out hitting the woman in the chest. She flew backwards skidding across the ground. Robyn walked over next to X and lowered her hands
"He said no." she said coolly flipping her long blonde hair over one shoulder.
"You little brat, I'll teach ya!"
The woman stood and ran at the two only to be blocked by a pool of black liquid. Or at least that's what it looked like.
The pool took shape revealing Jason and Shadow. "Leave my friends alone!" Shadow yelled. His eyes glowed and various black forms crawled towards him.
Before the demon could attack though the woman backhanded him harshly, Shadow lost his concentration and his body dissolved into a black cloud. Jason was too surprised to do anything.
The woman charged Robyn again ignoring Red-X's furious attempts to draw her attention away. Her foot connected with Robyn's stomach. The girl gave a cry of pain and staggered away. Her feet met the edge of the cliff and she fell. A scream tore from her throat as she dropped towards the canyon floor.
A hand caught hers causing her to stop with a sudden jerk. Red-X's gloved hand held her wrist tightly. He gave a sigh of relief. Robyn looked up and gave another yell "Look out!"
The woman started to shove Red-X over the cliff side but a rock shoved her away. Jason ran over to help the two but had to defend himself against a series of blows.
Robyn whimpered from the pain in her side and looked up at Red-X who was desperately trying to haul her back up. Yellow energy pulsed around her.
"Titans Go!" a voice yelled. Green starbolts, pink waves, a blue pillar of light, black power, and explosive disks flew at the woman creating a huge plume of dust
Jason shoved the dust away with his powers and gave a yell of frustration. The woman was gone and no trace remained.
"A little help you be appreciated over here!" Red-X yelled. He was starting to slide off the edge of the cliff after Robyn due to the fact that he had nothing to hold onto
Cyborg strode over, picked up both teens and set them on the ground properly. Robyn slumped to the ground with a smothered cry of pain. She pressed a hand to her stomach where she'd been kicked wincing in pain. Red-X knelt beside her worry evident on his features
"You okay?" he asked
Robyn shook her head "I think she broke some of my ribs or something." she whimpered. Jason's wrist watch smoked and finally exploded.
Raven hurried to the girl's side and glanced at Red-X who backed up a few steps to let the sorceress work.
Nearby Shadow's body appeared and he groaned "What'd I miss?" he asked sitting up. Seeing the Titans he raised a brow "A lot obviously."
"Are you alright?" Starfire asked hovering over the boy. Shadow nodded
"Who is that woman?" Robin wondered out loud
"Dunno but she's starting to get on my nerves." Jason said brushing dirt and dust off his clothes. Pebbles clung to him quivering.
Raven sat back on her heels and flexed her hands "Two ribs snapped, one totally shattered, and three cracked. I healed the broken and cracked ones. The shattered one will be sore for a few days so don't overdo anything. I'd stay in bed for a couple hours." she reported standing
Robyn nodded and took Red-X's hand letting him haul her to her feet.
"So… now what?" Jinx asked looking at the group, her pink eyes narrowed "Where's your pyro friend?"
As if to answer Jessica ran up the side of the cliff. She leaned over panting "I saw the smoke. What happened?" she asked looking around "Looks like a twister hit this place."
"Close enough." Shadow mumbled rubbing his head checking for blood
"We really ought to get going." Jason said to the others.
Before they could push their hidden buttons Robin held up both hands and spoke quickly "Wait! We could really use your help capturing this woman whoever she is."
The Outsiders looked at each other then huddled together a few feet away
"We're risking them finding Gar." Jessica hissed softly
""Maybe not, if we help them it might convince them we've got nothing to hide and they'll leave us alone."
"I sat we talk to Gar and see what he thinks. Then we give them an answer." Robyn said softly.
The group agreed and turned to the Titans
"Give us some more time to think it over. We'll meet you here tomorrow at noon and give you our answer."
The Titans consented and drove off in a cloud of dust.
"Come on Gar! This is a good chance for us to try out our skills." Jessica whined.
The changeling leaned in the cave entrance looking at the sky
"Are you gonna talk or you just gonna sit there moping cause you couldn't watch your girlfriend!" Jessica yelled.
The man's shoulders bunched and the muscles in his arms tensed "I thought about it Jess, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Why not?" the girl demanded. When Gar didn't reply she started to say something else but Robyn put a hand on her shoulder and shook her head
"Let him be. Something's wrong and yelling won't help. He just… needs to be alone, I think." Robyn said softly.
Gar's ears twitched slightly as he listened to the girl's conversation. He sighed and relaxed his muscles again. He wanted to let them go but something told him it was a bad idea. And as an animal changeling he had found in the past that his instincts were almost always right. Gar sighed again and lifted his face to the wind. His mind sorted out the smells with ease.
A soft growl escaped his throat. He hated being cooped up as much as the other teens did. Maybe he should let them go…
Gar turned and walked back into the cave. The five teens looked at him in silence. He rested an elbow against the wall and leaned against it
"Alright, you can go. But!" the celebration quickly died down "X is in charge. And try not to get yourselves killed."
"Awesome!" Jessica yelled doing a little dance. She grabbed Jason and hugged him. This caught the boy by surprise and he blushed.
The others all laughed except for Shadow who looked out at the sky a little nervously
"Is something wrong, Shadow?" Gar asked.
"Kinda, the dark of the moon is three days away. What if Raven's spells aren't strong enough?" the boy asked in worry
"Don't worry. If Raven's nearby she'll make sure to keep an eye on you."
Shadow nodded but the worry didn't leave his face