Author's Note: Again, sorry about delays, but now I actually have enough free time to work on this again. (for more than a paragraph a week… ) Hopefully I can be a bit better about updates and all that. Thanks for the reviews; I am grateful for each and every one. To those that have been with me on this endeavor, I appreciate your support, and although it's been a while (I know…) I hope you'll keep reading. I'll try to make it worth your while.
Alright, let's get going.
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Chapter 9: Dark Angel
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"Now Robin, I know what you're thinkin'…" Cyborg said from the screen of Robin's communicator. As Robin took a quick glance down after weaving between two sedans, Cyborg could see it all over the Boy Wonder's face, the tension and anger surfacing, the anticipation beginning to take form, even from behind the dark visor of his bike helmet. Still, Cyborg felt he had to get his point across.
"…Don't do anything stupid. Look, I know you want X put away more than all the rest of us put together, but you gotta be smart about it. Remember, man, we're spread all across the city, and it'll be a little while before any one of us'll be able to get to your location if something bad goes down. This is obviously a trap in the purest sense of the word, and quite frankly, I don't think--"
"Don't worry, Cyborg." Robin calmly interjected, cutting off the lecture before it could start proper. "I'm ready for whatever he throws at me. I'll take him down myself. This is my burden."
"Listen, man…you're not thinking straight!" Cyborg yelled into his communicator. "Don't you think this is what they had in mind all along? It's gonna be an ambush! If you head in there by yourself…"
"I can hold my own just fine." Robin replied.
"Argh!" Cyborg vented, frustrated at Robin's refusal to listen to reason. "Look, just give us a few minutes. I'll be back in the T-Car in a sec, and I'll get everyone else together, and then--"
"Cyborg," Robin started, still maintaining the calm in his voice. "I've got it. I'm taking Red X down. Understand?"
"But--!"
"Robin out." With that, Robin shut off his communicator, abruptly ending the conversation and turning his attention on the night skyline of high-rise buildings that was beginning to appear at the horizon. He gave the R-Cycle's engine a few quick revs, then gunned it, racing down the highway toward the buildings.
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"…He's crazy." Cyborg said as he scratched his head in puzzlement on the screen of a different Titan's communicator. This one was Raven's. She glanced down at it in the palm of her hand, one eyebrow slightly raised. "…I don't know what else to say about it. The kid's plain crazy. I told him what he was walkin' right into, but he wouldn't--"
"You should have expected such behavior." Raven said, no hint of worry in her voice, whether she was actually worried or not. After taking a deep breath, she continued. "When we have to deal with Red X, or Slade, Robin's emotions tend to get out of hand, leading to rash, impulsive decisions."
"Sounds like Robin, alright…" Beast Boy broke in on the conversation, splitting the image on the other two Titan's communicators. "…It's like he doesn't even want our help sometimes. I swear, if it wasn't for my help last time, he'd have been flatter than a--"
"Please, friends…" Starfire also joined the conversation, further splitting the channel. In stark contrast to Raven, the concern in Starfire's voice was unmistakable. Her eyes were wide, her expression on the verge of panic. "We must help Robin! If the trap you speak of is indeed true, then we have no time to waste! We must go to his location immediately!"
"Calm down, Star…" Cyborg said, trying to keep the Tamaranian from losing her composure. "We can't stop him from what he's gonna do, but we should be able to get over there before things get out of control. I just wired in the map on everyone's communicator, so everybody knows where to go. The sooner we can get there, the better. Now, given our present locations, I'd say Star and I are closest, so Rae and BB, you'll walk in right when things are in full swing. As it stands, we've wasted enough time talking, so let's get moving."
"Agreed." Starfire said. "We must make the haste."
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As Robin rode down the highway, he couldn't help but notice that traffic had seemed to lessen quite a bit. Down in front of him, only a single mack truck was on the road, nothing else for quite a distance ahead. There were no signs or posters on it, and the license plate was covered up. Robin accelerated, beginning to pass the truck on its driver's side, when he glanced up into its sideview mirror to see a Sladebot driving. Robin grit his teeth in response, then began to notice a strangely-cast shadow over him, even though they were currently passing under a series of streetlights. Robin glanced up to confirm his suspicion; a Sladebot, previously concealed by lying flat on top of the truck, had leapt from his hiding place to pounce on Robin's back.
The Boy Wonder attempted to emergency brake in response, but it wasn't quick enough to make a significant difference as the Sladebot landed on its target, hammering its fists into the back of Robin's helmeted head. All this caused Robin to swerve just a bit, but he regained control of the bike and his opponent as he drove an elbow back into the Sladebot's face, sending it off his back and rolling back up the street. Robin gunned the accelerator again, screeching ahead of the truck and beginning to pull away when four more headlights suddenly shone from behind him, accompanied by the roar of more engines. Robin glanced back to see four more Sladebots, all on bikes of their own, approaching him from the opposite side of the truck.
"They must've been hiding on the other side of the truck…" Robin thought, "…but why didn't I hear their engines?"
Regardless, there they were, gaining on him. The four Sladebots fanned out, one in each side lane and two in the middle lane. Taking but a few brief moments to reach into his utility belt with one hand while still steering with the other, Robin flung back a small black explosive. It made direct contact with one of the bikes in the middle lane, causing it to wildly flip over backwards, nearly taking out the adjacent bike in the resulting explosion. The other Sladebot in the middle lane had just barely managed to swerve away from the blast in time, regaining control as the remaining three Sladebots accelerated, catching up to Robin.
Two Sladebots rode at either side of Robin, while the third remained behind, though closer than before.
"I won't let you stand in my way!" Robin shouted angrily to these Sladebots.
The Sladebot on Robin's right began to bear left upon him, in an attempt to ram him off the road. Robin realized what was happening, but the bot rammed him before he could respond, nearly taking him out. Now unstable and dangerously close to the Sladebot on his other side, Robin swayed to dodge a punch aimed for his head, noticing that the Sladebot on the right was preparing to ram again. This time, Robin retaliated by counter-ramming, keeping his bike under control during the collision. The sparks flew as the bikes hit, Robin swiftly drawing his bo staff to swipe it across the side of that Sladebot's face, knocking it clean off its bike. The now-driverless bike slowed, eventually collapsing on its side as Robin turned his attention to the other two, bo staff still held ready in one hand.
The Sladebot who was originally to Robin's left had pulled ahead during the scuffle, and now rode a few car lengths ahead. The other was still behind him. After hearing a thunderous roar behind him, Robin looked back, anticipating the Sladebot from behind to make a move. However, the high-pitched screeching sound of tire scraping against the street forced Robin to turn his attention forward again, to see the Sladebot in front had intentionally skidded his bike almost completely sideways, attempting to use it as a roadblock. With quick thinking, Robin instinctively pulled up on the front wheel of his bike. When Robin's wheel hit, the Sladebot's sideways bike served as a ramp which shot Robin up and over. The fourth Sladebot followed suit, also jumping over that bike.
As the last two riders landed, the Sladebot who was still driving the mack truck behind them made no attempt to avoid the kamikaze Sladebot or its bike, slamming into them. Both bike and rider were pinned to the front of the truck for a few moments, but both eventually flew off at the sides broken and disfigured, as the truck kept going unhindered.
The last biker Sladebot pulled up right next to Robin, and the two rode side-by-side for a stretch of road before a road sign on an overpass ahead gave Robin an idea. A sly, devious smirk began to cross his face as he looked over at the Sladebot beside him. Sensing something bad, the Sladebot took a swing at Robin, but Robin easily blocked it with his staff. Robin then used the end of the staff to give the Sladebot's bike a small nudge, increasing the distance between them by about a foot or so. Robin then returned his gaze forward, seemingly no longer interested in the Sladebot as he throttled ahead.
Puzzled, the Sladebot did likewise, throttling its engine to speed up…but as the Sladebot looked ahead, they had come to an exit, and although Robin had veered off to continue down the highway, the Sladebot was on a direct collision course with the half-wall and guardrail separating the main freeway from the exit path. The Sladebot tried to veer, but far too late as it smashed through a couple fluid-filled containers, all the way into the half-wall itself in a powerful explosion.
One left.
The sound of a projectile hitting the street only a few inches from Robin's R-Cycle made Robin glance back again. The Sladebot driving the mack truck was leaning out its window, a small, silver firearm in hand. After Robin avoided a few more potshots, the driver ducked back into the truck, focusing its attention on trying to close the gap for a better shot. During this time, Robin readied a birdarang, and hurled it back. To avoid it, the Sladebot ducked underneath the steering wheel for a couple moments, just as the birdarang crashed through the windshield. After a solid "clank" sound signifying the threat was over, the Sladebot returned to the wheel, stepping on the gas full-force. Once again, Robin turned his attention forward, continuing along the road.
It wasn't until they approached a right curve that something went wrong. As Robin effortlessly glided along the curve, the Sladebot found it nigh impossible to turn the steering wheel. When Robin threw the birdarang, he wasn't aiming for the Sladebot…instead, he'd aimed at the steering wheel itself. And now, the birdarang was lodged in-between a part of the steering wheel itself, and its turning mechanism, which prevented the wheel from moving more than an inch or so in either direction.
Realizing what would happen soon, the Sladebot began to yank at the lodged birdarang, but to no avail as the monstrous truck rammed straight through the guardrail, careening off the road and into the darkness below. A few moments later, a huge explosion sounded from behind, as the truck met its end far below, fiery reds and yellows illuminating the road signs ahead for a distance. Robin didn't even bother looking back.
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A short while later, off the freeway and into the central district of Jump City, Robin pulled into the nearly vacant parking lot of a cluster of office buildings. He cut the engine, dismounting the bike and removing his helmet as he began to scour the environment for anything unusual. According to the map Cyborg provided, he was standing directly on the spot represented by the red blip, though at present, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
He began to walk toward one of the buildings, spotting a security camera which just happened to be trained on him. He hadn't noticed it before, perhaps because he was too intent on searching for Red X. It followed him as he walked. The image the camera was taking, however, was being intercepted by Slade. The masked villain stood before a mammoth sized wall of screens in a large, dark room somewhere hidden away, the light from the screens the only thing illuminating him. He'd seen Robin pull into the lot, and watched Robin's every move intently, arms folded.
"Everything according to plan." Slade said with chilling confidence.
As Robin got closer to the camera, he swiftly reached into his belt, drawing a small device which fired off an EM pulse, temporarily shorting out the camera's video feed with a brief cackle of electricity. This elicited a chuckle from Slade on the other end as that particular screen went to static.
Back in the parking lot, Robin suddenly halted when he thought he heard a sound off to his left. He turned, only to see a cluster of leaves floating down the street, carried by the wind. He continued to walk, approaching a dim streetlight. Just before he reached the outer border of its circle of light, Robin heard a voice behind him.
"Wrong way."
Robin froze in place. He recognized the voice right away. Red X. A moment later, Robin whipped around, turning his gaze upward to see a dark silhouette standing on the edge of a rooftop on the opposite side of the parking lot, the serene light of a huge, pale moon at his back. Without so much as a word, Robin broke into a full-on sprint across the lot, readying his grappling hook as Red X looked on from above, ragged black cape flowing in the wind and arms folded in an amused pose.
With a quick leap, Robin hopped onto the roof of a nearby parked SUV, then bounded from that as high as he could jump, firing the hook in midair. It landed cleanly in the brick of the building near the top, the line vaulting him upward just as Red X turned to flee. After flipping up and over the edge of the rooftop, Robin landed deftly, securing his footing on the gravel before launching forward to give chase.
"You won't get away!" Robin yelled without breaking stride.
"Heh…but it's no fun if I don't try!" Red X replied, glancing over his shoulder at Robin as he ran. Robin readied a birdarang as Red X approached the edge of the rooftop. He flung it just as Red X launched himself across the gap to the next building. Seeing it coming, Red X turned in midair, the birdarang just barely missing him as it whizzed past and looped its way back. Red X landed on the second rooftop without a hitch and took off running again. Robin landed a few moments later, launching forward again in an attempt to catch Red X. Robin was so intent on his goal, however, that he hadn't noticed Red X stopped running, and was aiming a fist straight for his face.
Realizing the danger just in time, Robin dodged the punch, using his forward momentum to lash out with a wide swinging punch. Red X dropped to one knee, ducking under this attack easily. Red X counterattacked from this position by planting a foot into Robin's momentarily undefended midsection, sending the Boy Wonder a couple feet backward. Robin landed in a roll, quickly standing to bound forward yet again and take the offensive.
Red X caught a punch in the palm of his hand, then hopped back to avoid a high kick. After a brief exchange of swift attacks, blocks, and dodges, Red X ducked under a sudden roundhouse kick from Robin, while sweeping a leg out to trip him up. Robin landed on his back with a grunt as Red X took a couple steps back, planning his next move. When Robin moved, preparing to spring back to his feet, Red X shot out a palm and fired a short burst of Xenothium goo at the spot where his feet would land. As predicted, one of Robin's feet landed in the trap. When he tried to spring forward at Red X, his own momentum slammed him hard face-first onto the rooftop. Red X backflipped away, landing on the rooftop's edge. He chuckled arrogantly as he folded his arms again, glaring down at his opponent.
"Heh…what's the matter, kid?" Red X taunted. "Can't keep up?"
"You…" Robin barely spat through gritted teeth.
A second later, Robin took another birdarang from his belt and used it to cut his foot free. With a ferocious growl, the now-freed Robin lunged for his rival. Taking the cue, Red X simply leaned backward, voluntarily falling from the ledge. With his body still facing upward, Red X glared up at Robin as he fell, arms still folded.
"No…not this time!" Robin yelled as he took a dashing step for the edge. With a swan dive, Robin dropped from the roof. Since he took on a more aerodynamic position, Robin knew he'd be able to catch Red X soon. However, Red X extended one arm over his head, aimed at the buildings across the street. Another moment, and his grappling hook fired, connecting with a building and allowing Red X to swing off in the direction of a two-tiered rooftop enveloped in shadow. Reacting quickly, Robin readied his own grappling hook, preparing to swing to the same area.
On that dark rooftop, Red X drifted into a shadowed corner, located behind a shed-like structure which probably housed some of that building's electricity transformers and equipment. With a brief moment to take a breather, Red X hid against the wall of the shed, waiting for Robin to show. He heard the clink of Robin's grappling hook hitting the building. Soon enough, Robin could be seen vaulting up high over the rooftop, preparing his landing.
"Here he comes…" Red X said, almost as if he were talking to someone else on that rooftop.
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Riding along the same highway that Robin had traveled some time earlier that night, Cyborg drove the T-Car a little faster than normal, hoping he wouldn't be too late. While ordinarily, the purr of the T-Car's engine at these specific speeds was something Cyborg enjoyed and saved especially for the occasional joyride, he found himself too worried about his friend and leader to think about that now. As he reached a certain section of the highway, Cyborg began to see the remnants of Sladebot and bike parts left in the wake of the earlier highway battle. He had to swerve to dodge one of the mangled Sladebot bikes lying in the middle of the road.
"Man…city cleanup better get on that…."
Cyborg decided to check up on the others. He tried calling Robin's communicator…no response, as Cyborg predicted. With a sigh, next he sent out an open channel call to all other four Titans, Robin included. Starfire was the first to answer. Soon enough, her face appeared on his communicator screen, clouds and stars behind her moving so fast he almost couldn't make them out.
"She's probably even more worried than me…" Cyborg mused.
"Friend Cyborg," Starfire said, attempting to still keep her usual light-hearted, happy tone, though doing a decidedly poor job at it. "Have you anything to report?"
Cyborg shook his head. "Not much, Star." Next, Beast Boy's channel opened. It seemed he'd taken on the form of a peregrine falcon, and the communicator was held in his talons. "Hey BB. Now Star, like I was sayin', I haven't seen Robin yet, but…"
"…But what?" Raven asked as she also entered the conversation.
"…He's been through here." Cyborg continued. "Mashed-up sladebots all over the highway…and the smell of burning twisted metal. Something definitely crashed and burned over there."
Suddenly, Starfire gasped. "Surely, you do not suppose he…?"
"No…" Raven said simply. "Starfire, Robin wouldn't let himself be taken down by a few Sladebots." "…Not when he's like this." Raven thought to herself. "But if he's blinded by rage, then he won't be able to beat Red X…"
Starfire breathed a sigh of relief. "Raven is right. Now, let us reach him quickly, before--"
Starfire was interrupted by an ear-piercing squawk from falcon Beast Boy. Raven grunted at the sudden loudness, eyes shut in an attempt to control herself. "Beast…Boy…" she said, straining.
"Don't talk when you're a bird!" Cyborg said for her. Beast Boy eyed the screen for a moment, then morphed his face only back into human form, angry expression intact.
"I said…"
Beast boy then shifted the communicator in his talons to show what he wanted to tell everyone. There had been an explosion on one of the rooftops far ahead in the distance, and the fire from it was still blazing. Beast Boy's human face then reappeared on-screen, toothy grin replacing the anger from before.
"…I found 'em!"
Starfire searched the horizon ahead, and soon enough, she too saw the flames. "I can see them as well…I will be there shortly!"
"Please…" Starfire thought. "…wait for me, Robin…"
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Robin yelled in pain as his back slammed into the brick wall which lead to the second, higher tier of the rooftop. Before Robin could slump down from the wall, Red X fired a large sticky X which clung to Robin, bounding him tight to the wall. Red X walked up leisurely, arms folded again, stopping just a foot or so from Robin. Red X stared at him through the mask, and Robin stared right back, uncompromising. Red X sighed, mockingly.
"And here I thought I'd get a decent challenge…but I guess you just ain't got it!" With that, Red X threw a sucker punch, nailing the defenseless Robin squarely across the jaw. Robin took the hit in full, then smirked at Red X, despite the blood finding its way down from his lip to his chin.
"Trust me…" Robin said, sounding arrogant despite his current disadvantage. "…you'll get what's coming to you."
Losing his patience, Red X formed a bladed X in one hand, preparing to finish Robin with it when he looked back just in time to see a hail of glowing green Starbolts coming down on him from above. Red X hopped back to avoid the attack, while Starfire carefully aimed her next shot, using it to free Robin from the binding sticky X.
"Thanks, Starfire." Robin quickly expressed his gratitude. She landed next to him, eyes and hands glowing bright green as they both took on ready stances, side-by-side.
"Isn't this romantic?" Red X mocked. "Saved by your girl, and now you think you can--"
"Gremplork…" Starfire muttered tersely under her breath, though her anger quickly began to swell. Then with a fierce battlecry, the Tamaranian girl lunged straight for him without warning, one arm forward with palm open and fingers outstretched, the other arm cocked back, fist balled tight, ready to unleash a mighty blow. Red X planted his feet, and crossed his arms in front of his face to block, as he knew he'd have zero chance of dodging this attack cleanly.
"Zordmorking…CHLORBAG!" Starfire yelled in rage, just as she was upon him.
Starfire's fist made direct contact, and even though he blocked it, Red X let out a pained grunt as the sheer brute force of the punch lifted him from his feet, carrying him several yards across the length of the rooftop. He landed hard on his back, skidding along and rolling a short distance more until the top half of his body hung dangerously over the edge. Even though he blocked, he felt like he'd just tried to block a wrecking ball. His arms still throbbed violently. If it wasn't for the suit…
"They aren't broken…" he thought, trying to shake some of it off. It wasn't really working. "The girl's no joke."
"Quite the feisty Amazonian, aren't you?" Red X casually called as he started to get up, masking the pain as best he could.
"No…" Starfire said defiantly, fists tightly clenched. "…Not Amazonian. Tamaranian."
With that, she fired off another volley of Starbolts, a couple of them stinging before Red X ran for cover behind the shed. Robin gave chase, leaping on top of the shed to pounce on Red X, bo staff in hand. Red X dodged this attack, but was caught across the jaw by a quick second swipe from the staff which forced him back a few steps. Robin didn't relent, tagging Red X a few more times with the staff until Red X escaped the rush by quickly forming a bladed X in one hand to parry the staff, then hopping up onto the second tier of the roof. Robin and Starfire were close behind, after him again in an instant.
"I hope we aren't late to the party!" it was Cyborg, being airlifted by the talons of pterodactyl Beast Boy, coming from the opposite direction. Cyborg aimed the Sonic Cannon from above, as Raven could be seen floating upward from a dark alleyway.
"Tch…Just great." Red X thought angrily to himself. "Glad you could make it." He said before jumping away from the Sonic Cannon blast.
"You know I never miss a party." Cyborg said with a smirk as Beast Boy set him down. Upon landing, Beast Boy morphed into a raptor, crouching low and growling threateningly.
"What's taking so long?" Red X wondered to himself. His thoughts were cut short as Robin attacked at him again, aided by raptor Beast Boy. Red X lodged one bladed X in Beast Boy's snapping jaws, using the other to block a swing from Robin. With a show of force, Red X used the one arm locked in Beast Boy's mouth to fling the young changeling away, so he could focus more attention on Robin. He deftly blocked and parried more attacks with his bladed Xs, but was nearly hit by another Sonic Cannon shot that both of them had to leap away from. Red X landed back on the lower tier of the roof, the only one down there. With a high leap, Robin cut an arc through the air, bo staff raised high and ready to strike.
"Any time now…" Red X thought, muscles tensing.
And then, just before Robin would've made contact, his bo staff, and his entire body was enveloped in a familiar black aura. He was frozen in place, as the others looked on incredulous.
"…What the…?" Cyborg uttered, the collective thought among all the other Titans for sure. A moment later, and the black aura slammed Robin back into the wall which separated the tiers of the roof, leaving a nice-sized crack. Red X chuckled.
"ROBIN!" Starfire cried. Beast Boy, reverting back to human form, had a look of suspicion about him. Cyborg looked at him, and knew that they were both thinking the same thing. There was only one among them who could do something like that…apparently, Robin had an idea too.
"RAVEN!" Robin screamed, as he lied in a slump on the wall.
"YO!" Cyborg shouted, turning back. "What's the deal, Rae?"
"Yeah Raven," Beast Boy said, turning to point an accusing finger her way. "Whose side are you on?"
"Friend Raven…" Starfire said pleadingly, trying to keep her emotions in check. "Surely you attacked the wrong one!"
Raven floated in the night air, cloak blowing in the wind. Her facial expression flared slightly, but it wasn't at her friends.
"It wasn't ME…" Raven protested, though she knew that technically, that statement was only partially true.
"How stupid do you think we are?" Beast Boy yelled, obviously not convinced. "We saw--"
"She's right, you know…" Red X began, folding his arms yet again as a black fog began to permeate about him. Robin looked at him questioningly from the wall. "Huh…?"
The fog thickened, as black lightning-like bolts began to shoot out from it.
"That was my new guardian…" Red X continued, as an even darker silhouette made its way through the fog, until it floated just a short distance behind him.
"…My Dark Angel."
At those words, the silhouette's eyes flashed open, four of them. All red. None of the Titans save Raven could believe what they were seeing. The silhouette revealed herself, identical to Raven except for the paler skin, red eyes and black cloak. She floated even closer to Red X, affectionately draping her arms around his shoulders, a purely evil grin on her face. All the Titans looked to Raven again. Beast Boy especially wasn't too fond of what he saw. Even though he knew it wasn't really her…
"She…looks just like…" Beast Boy said aloud, slack-jawed, eyes wide.
"I'll explain later." Raven said simply as her eyes glowed white.
By now, Robin was back on his feet. "Titans, GO!" he shouted. Raven was first, firing off a two-handed burst of dark energy. Strife raised an open palm, and a black energy shield shot up at Red X's feet, protecting both of them from Raven's attack.
"Heh." Red X sneered as the shield dissipated. Strife released Red X, taking flight some feet above while Red X made a dash for the nearest Titan: Robin. Robin held the bo staff tight in a defensive stance, anticipating Red X's blades.
"A guardian…" Robin said as he fought with Red X. "…I thought you worked alone."
"Things change, kid." Came the thief's reply.
Up above, Starfire flew to Strife's level, staring questioningly at her. Strife retained the mischievous grin.
"Please…" Starfire inquired. "You are…Raven…but…not Raven?"
"Smart girl." Strife replied, as she pointed a palm at Starfire. Another second, and Starfire was overwhelmed by a blast of dark energy. With a yelp, she fell back to the rooftop.
"STARFIRE!" Robin looked up from his struggle with Red X. Temporarily losing interest in his rival, Robin quickly disengaged, leaping straight up, enraged at this new enemy. She glared down at him as he rose, grin growing even more toothy and menacing. Red X couldn't help but look on, amused at what he knew was about to happen. Apparently, he wasn't too worried about the other Titans. He figured he could take a rest and let his 'guardian' beat on them for a while.
Raven flew to Starfire, kneeling down at her side. "She's still conscious…" Raven thought. "Just a little rattled."
Starfire looked up at Raven, forming a faint smile. Raven allowed herself to return it, though toned down some.
"You are…related?" Starfire asked, almost a whisper.
"Starfire…" Raven said, looking up in the direction of Strife and Robin. "…like I said, I'll explain later. Just try to focus on staying alive for now."
"Agreed."
After getting sufficient height, Robin swung the staff at Strife, who casually swayed her head to dodge. Taking advantage of the opening, she sunk a knee into Robin's torso, his body painfully bending over it.
"…You're too slow, Boy Blunder." She whispered into Robin's ear.
She used her knee to lift him higher, then landing a lightning-fast series of three punches, two across the face, one more in the stomach. These hits were so fierce and so quick, they kept Robin airborne.
"She fights like G.I. Raven…" Beast Boy thought. "Don't just stand there!" he then turned and cried to Cyborg, arms waving in a panic. "Shoot 'er or somethin'!"
"I'm tryin'…" Cyborg replied, as he had the Sonic Cannon aimed in their direction. "She ain't making it easy. For all I know, if I shoot now, she might grab Robin and use him as a shield."
Regaining composure, Robin finally blocked an attack, pushing away from Strife. He swung the bo staff around, aiming for her head. Strife held out a hand, catching it without any significant effort. Then, as if taking a page out of Dr. Light's book (at least the more effective chapter of it anyway), she channeled a surge of dark energy into that arm, transferring it to the staff, then directly to Robin. He yelled out, but maintained enough willpower to hold onto the staff, despite the pain shooting through his every bone. Growing tired of his dogged determination, Strife flung Robin and his staff downward, straight for Cyborg and Beast Boy. Starfire saw this and gasped, as Raven helped her back to her feet.
Beast Boy yelped, morphing into the first thing that came to mind: an octopus. With some difficulty, he managed to catch Robin, though the force of impact sent all three of them to the floor. Remembering there was no water in the immediate area, Beast Boy hurriedly shifted back to human form. With a grunt, Cyborg lined up his shot again from the floor, and took it without hesitation. Strife was motionless in the air as the blast approached her, the grin almost seeming to be a permanent tattoo on her face. This time, she pointed a lone forefinger at Cyborg's attack. Dark energy crackled at the fingertip, then fired straight into the cannon blast. Her shot stopped Cyborg's cold.
"No…way…" Cyborg muttered from the floor.
With a flick of the wrist, Strife altered the path of Cyborg's shot by a few degrees, then allowed it to continue, and it whizzed harmlessly by her head, on into the night sky.
"She's…tough…" Beast Boy whined. He couldn't help but wonder what would happen if this new evil Raven fought Brave one-on-one. Little did he know that already happened…
Leaving Starfire, Raven was next to take on this powerful new opponent. She floated up, and Strife waited for her. As they met at eye-level, Strife's ever-present smirk lessened noticeably, but did not vanish completely.
"I won't let this stand." Raven declared, serious. "You know that."
"Then fight me." Strife replied coldly. "If you think you can win."
Raven's eyes glowed white, and she floated a couple yards backward to give herself some space. Strife mirrored her every movement. Both chanted simultaneously.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
Without another moment's pause, they both fired medium-sized blasts at each other, of nearly identical magnitude. The blasts met in the center, and a power struggle began.
Meanwhile, down below, Red X decided his break was over, and leapt back into action on the Titans still recovering on the floor. Robin bounded forward to meet him, and the two clashed weapons, directly below the clash of energies above them.
Raven grunted, putting considerable effort into her end of the struggle. On the other hand, Strife didn't seem to be expending too much energy, even though Raven still wouldn't just let herself be pushed over.
"Are you strong enough?" Strife asked mockingly. "Can you even stand up to your own inner darkness?" When Raven looked into Strife's eyes, she was instantly reminded of the nightmares she wished she could purge from the depths of her mind.
"You may have erased me from your realm, but I'm not done with you yet, my daughter."
It rung and echoed in her head like an alarm. Raven grunted again, shaking her head in an attempt to rid herself of it, at least for the time being. Finally, she focused even more energy into the struggle, meeting Strife's power bit for bit.
Below, Robin and Red X circled, neither one willing to break the lock. Beast Boy and Cyborg appeared over the wall separating the tiers, wanting to help.
"Don't worry!" Robin called without looking at them. "I've got him. You two make sure Starfire is okay!"
After a short, indecisive moment, they agreed, vanishing back over the wall.
"Face it kid," Red X taunted. "You're in over your head on this one."
"We'll see." Robin responded, as he kicked at Red X's stomach without warning. After the hit, Red X took a step back, then hopped forward with a swing from one of the blades. Robin parried it with the staff, using the momentum to slam Red X into the wall, hard on his back. Seemingly unfazed, Red X got in a surprise attack by hitting Robin in the chin with a high front kick from the wall. Robin stumbled back, and Red X pursued, swinging with both blades this time. Robin dodged a few swipes, then caught both blades at once with the staff. In a continuous motion, Robin rolled backward, flinging Red X past him with both feet.
Without hesitation, and before Red X could rise, Robin continued to roll smoothly into a backflip, landing square on Red X's chest. Robin slammed the bo staff down angrily across Red X's shoulders, preventing retaliation. Interestingly enough, Robin forgot about Red X's legs, but before Red X could kick Robin away, Beast Boy showed up once again as an octopus, showing quick thinking of his own by wrapping his tentacles tight around Red X's feet.
"I told you to stay with Starfire!" Robin said as he shot Beast Boy an 'I'm-the-leader, do-as-I-say' look. Although, he couldn't deny he was grateful for the changeling's help.
It seemed Red X was finally pinned.
Cyborg and Starfire peeked up from the edge of the wall as well, and it seemed even Raven took a moment's glance down at what was going on.
"Wait…he's not about to…?"
"It's been a long time coming, X…" Robin said. He reached for the mask which had tormented him for so long…
"He IS!" Octopus Beast Boy thought, as his head alone reverted back to human form. "Oh man, this is it! We finally get to see…"
"This makes no difference, kid!" Red X said, not sounding desperate, but still slightly shaken. "You've still got no chance against us!"
With a swift movement of the hand, Robin removed Red X's mask. What he saw beneath made him go wide-eyed, and gasp in pure, unabashed surprise.
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Author's note: Heh, what can I say?
Random girl in audience: AAAAIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE! How can you leave off at a cliffie like that?
Me: …Umm… sorry…? -o-;;
-gets a folding chair thrown at him-
Ow…anyway, things are really getting good now, huh? Strife makes a dramatic reappearance, as Red X's right hand…woman, no less, and kicks her some Titan butt! Speaking of Red X…. he's finally unmasked! Who is he, after all?
Random girl: If you value your life, you will tell us RIGHT NOW.
Me: Er… -gulp- Findoutnextchap! -runs for the door, is chased by angry mob led by the girl-