FarCry
Part Five
ºflashbacksº
ºShe honestly didn't notice what time of day it was. The sky was dropping; the sky blue was losing to the orange and purples of nightfall. She didn't know how far she had run before she had gotten tired and walked, dragging her feet against the Earth. If she had wanted to, she could have pulled the ground beneath herself and floated to anywhere she wanted to go in the world. She had done it before, had done it a million times before, but it never got her to where she wanted to be.
The rocks skipped out over the canyon. The battle ground where she had first met the Teen Titans was locked in brown and oranges and blues that rivaled the sky. She sat down, all her weight collapsing onto one spot. Under anyone else, the earth would have shook and possibly given away, but Terra's natural reflexes to escape death kept the land steady, but in all honesty, the girl didn't know for how long.
There was only a little bit of wind, but it was enough to distract her. The desert air was dry, but not uncomfortable, she almost enjoyed the way it pulled her hair into her face: almost because Terra simply wasn't in the mind state to feel anything good.
You always do this, don't you Terra? Whenever something good comes along… you have to ruin it… they were your friends… they didn't want anything from you… but now… they can't even look you in the eye…they want to destroy you… the way you tried to destroy them…
Terra had asked herself once or twice, in that time that was really just a few months ago, but to her had felt like a hundred years past; she had asked herself why she had turned on the Titans so easily. And even then she knew the reason, as she donned her apprentice uniform and trained to destroy the Titans: she was doing it, because she was a bad person.
Terra dropped her chin to her knees, her thin arms hugging her shins as she looked over the canyon. I wasn't confused, I wasn't being manipulated… I wanted to do all those things… So why did I think I deserved their forgiveness?
She saw the shadow before she even heard the footsteps, long before she realized the vibrations she had been feeling weren't coming from her. The shadow came from an overly familiar presence, one that she thought she'd never see again. The blonde geomancer swerved her head, her hair whipping against the wind as her blue eyes locked on the most menacing creature she knew: that wasn't a part of herself.
"Slade."
"Hello Terra… alone again are we?"
Terra's eyes took on their dangerous yellow rage as she leapt to her feet. Her fists balled up and the earth trembled for her desires. A boulder was pulled from the canyon side, the mountain moaned lowly but was able to hold itself together. That boulder rose behind Terra's back and with a single thrust of her hand, it took course to lay out Slade.
He didn't bother cocking his head, though he was amused. With a short grunt, Slade's arm ignited in his ill-begotten power. The boulder approached and with a single backhand Slade crumbled the stone. Terra's eyes lost their glow, her pale blue irises widened in shock. Through the fragments of flame and scattered earth, she could see Slade staring right at her. She swallowed hard.
Slade's voice was menacing and behind the back drop of fiery flashes of earth, he was almost sinister. His wicked power twirled under his control. "Everyday fire scorches the land… I wonder, what great counterattack does the Earth command… do you command that could match that fury?"
Terra took a step forward. Her eyes trailed up from his powerful hands to his face. The memory of the past came back to her the way a movie could be replayed. She remembered giving it all she had, to send him away, as far away as she possibly could. "After that attack… you lived?"
"Lived is such… an ambiguous term. I'd like to think I endured your malcontent."
"Get away from me!"
"Get away… from you? Terra, you're in my stomping ground… you're constantly interrupting my vision of the canyon… sometimes I wonder if you're coming out here to find me."
"Why would I want to find you?"
"Terra, I had hoped you would have gotten to know me a little better in your time as my apprentice. I am a man who presents opportunities… unbiased and generous."
"What you're sellin', I ain't buyin'! So you better--"
"What?" Slade interrupted, stepping closer to the short girl. His arms became a blaze in his powers. "Should I run Terra? Should I be frightened of your powers? The powers I honed? The powers I nourished?"
Terra frowned. "I'm listening."
"They aren't so welcoming at Titans' Tower are they? I saw your fight against Dr. Light. I heard the way they yelled at you… they don't trust your abilities."
Terra frowned. The blonde girl turned her eyes to the side; she wasn't going to say anything either way. But she already knew that by turning her head, she said a million more things than her words ever could.
"They don't accept you… because they're not your friends. They were never your friends."
"That's not true! They're… mad at me… but… they…" Terra's blue eyes wavered, her tears ready to shed. "Beast Boy and Celine were nice to me!"
"Beast Boy and Celine… I noticed that pairing as well. They are rather close aren't they? I wonder if Beast Boy is close to you again, because Celine has been close to you… And what motivation does Celine have to befriend you?"
"You're wrong! They're just friends! Celine wouldn't… Beast Boy would never…" Terra's shoulders dropped when she realized that what she had wanted to pretend wasn't true, was reality. Her blue eyes closed as she took a deep breath. "They're just toying with me, aren't they?"
"You could find out for yourself."
"They'd lie to me." Terra replied.
"Terra, you know very well there are numerous ways to get information from someone without asking them directly."
"Spy on them?" Terra worried her lip. The last time she had done that… It's the exact same thing as last time! "I'm not going to help you, Slade, in whatever game you're playing with Robin and the Titans. I won't betray my friends."
"Friends? Terra, you don't have friends. Friends are for the weak and dependent. Even before I nurtured your talents, you were able to make it on your own. But the moment you aligned yourself with the Titans, they wore you down, they took all your talents and made them appear inferior to their own. They tried to make you a lesser class of human being. The way Robin didn't trust you; the way Sakura looked over you… the way Raven constantly looked down on you… the way none of them forgave you."
The wind picked up and Slade turned his face into it, while Terra turned hers away. She tried to push the locks behind her ear, but the wind pulled them free, throwing them over her right eye. Slade stepped forward, putting a hand under her chin. She was crying. It was the truth. No matter what she wanted to believe, Slade had never lied to her.
"The Titans don't believe you're one of them. They don't think of you at all if they can… they will never let you back in… not the way I'm willing to."
Terra's eyes peered up into the two sides of Slade's face: the blank side of his mask was infinitely less sinister than the golden left side: his malicious side, his seeing side, his knowing side. It was from the golden side that he could see all in his unbiased and infinite way… he could always see opportunity. "You could forgive me?" She finally asked.
Slade pulled his hand away from her chin. "You only walked away…" Slade replied. "I never abandoned you…" There was a pause as if he were thinking, but Terra knew that he had this all planned out. "I still have much to teach you."
Terra tilted her head to listen. "What could you offer me?"
"Dear girl, I taught you everything you know, but I did not teach you everything."
"You want to show me more… even after what happened?"
Slade nodded. He extended his mark to her. Terra took it. She looked down at his symbol, the way it stood out from her glove. It looked perfectly in place in her grip. She blinked slowly, pushing a breath out that expanded her small chest. She almost smiled.
"Back then… I didn't mean to destroy you."
"I know. You couldn't control your power."
Terra sneered, the yellow glow returning to her eyes. The word control frustrated her like nothing else: not traitor, not weak, not even dangerous. Her breathing was hard, a tear might have formed in her angry eyes, but it was blinded by her anger of the land.
"You shouldn't have pushed me so hard!"
Slade didn't seem impressed with her fury. His voice was absolutely calm. "You should have listened."
The two looked at each other; Slade's single eye was focused even as Terra's waved. The wind only affected her. This is the wind of change… I can get better if I change… But I've done this before… I've been good; I've been evil… what are my options really?
"I'm not good at being bad." Terra finally said, looking down at the mark in her palm.
"You're worse at being good."
Terra didn't need to think about what was happening, what was happening again. Slade was giving her opportunity and she would be a fool not to take it.
"If I do this… will I owe you anything?" Terra asked.
Slade shook his head in the negative. "This is an alliance Terra, quite a promising one… do what inspires your compassion." Terra's eyes narrowed at the word. Slade noticed. "This is an opportunity that can only be extended once: you were a phenomenal power beside me… Stand side by side with me and you will get all you desire."
Terra knew that there was more to Slade's generosity than met the eye. There always was… but Terra wasn't the kind to learn from past mistakes. Her life was a perpetual cycle of making bad choices, paying for them, running away and making bad choices again. From abandoning Geo-Force, from abandoning the Titans, she wasn't meant to be a team player. She was meant for alliances, not for friends. They want to destroy me the way I tried to destroy them… but I couldn't beat them… so they can't beat me…
Terra dropped all her pretenses of resistance. She knew what she wanted; she knew what she was going to do. "You'll find it lonely on my side." She said with a slight smile.
"Your side always was a bit lonely." Slade replied.
Terra stood as tall as she could and the wind stilled, dropping her hair over her right eye. She didn't bother to push it aside. "What do I have to do?"
"All it takes is your blue eyes. Tell me what you see, tell me what they know and tell me what they're doing… and you'll get everything you deserve."
"Deal.¹"º
…
Beast Boy frowned as Robotman continued his assessment of the Doom Patrol's findings.
"It was quiet for a little while, but apparently one of the Brotherhood's go-to-guys is back in action."²
"Any idea which one?" Beast Boy asked.
Robotman shook his head in the negative. The movement didn't shake the communications display at all. His massive form remained steady on the screen. "Sorry Bean Sprout, but we'll let you know if we hear anything."
BB nodded. "Thanks Cliff."
"Sure thing. Tell your ma we'll stop over to check on her soon. She's probably gone stir crazy without you in her hair."
BB frowned when he watched Robotman's eye contact leave him and follow something going on behind him. The green changeling turned his head and saw Celine walking across the common room, her head bowed down reading a print out. When she stopped in front of Robin, passing the papers to the Titans' leader, Robotman's eyes stopped as well.
"Humina, humina! Who's the angel on Earth?" Robotman asked.
BB shook his head. "Goodbye Cliff." He cut off the communication before Robotman could protest. The youngest member of the Titans joined the round table, taking his seat beside Aqualad and Blackfire.
Sadly, it was no surprise, when that year was drawing to a close that they had found nothing. The Titans had been anxiously counting down the days, hoping that something would spring up, something that would keep General Fletcher's threat as simply that: a threat, unacted upon and infinitely less biting than a promise. But there were only two weeks left and they had gotten no where.
Dedicating all of her time to the AGU deadline wasn't possible. Too many factors took Celine's attention, demanded Celine's commitment to the Titans in the absolute. The Brotherhood of Evil was slowly, but undoubtedly, making its influence on the world. The Titans had enlisted the help of as many organizations as they could to quiet the riot the Brotherhood was creating, but it was taking time and effort the Titans couldn't afford to spend.
Celine was preparing to give up her AGU badge… because she was not leaving the Titans. Robin was doing everything he could to make sure Celine didn't have to make that sacrifice.
Robin looked over the stack of papers. Things were crashing down on the team of heroes; everyday became more and more of a struggle. Sakura hadn't recovered, the Brotherhood of Evil was flexing its ill will on the young heroes of the world and nothing remotely smelling of the Syndicate had passed the Titans' radar. They couldn't be sure, but they hoped to believe that there was some part of the Syndicate was working on this side of the dimensional divide that the Titans could confront. Their only guess on who that could be was Brother Blood.
"We need to flush out Blood." Cyborg said.
The Titans' leader nodded, pushing the stack of papers away from him.
"Perhaps an infiltration of the HIVE academy?" Blackfire posited.
Robin shook his head in the negative. "That never works."
"Besides," Cyborg added. "There hasn't been so much as a sneeze from the HIVE since we caught Red Hawk."
Robin rubbed his squared jaw. He didn't like this, not a single bit. For four years the Titans had been held at bay by circumstances none of them were mentally and emotionally prepared for. Terra, Slade, Brother Blood, the darkness of Raven's progeny: all of the worst aspects of their lives had come together and crashed against the collective will of the Titans… and it was winning. And if they didn't do something, the AGU would take something else away from them. Robin's eyes drifted to Celine, then back to the center of the Titans' roundtable.
The Titans needed something, anything… something to stop the hurting cycle. They needed to fend off the AGU, to counter-defend the Brotherhood of Evil, to revive Sakura and rescue Raven: none of those goals were proving to be easier than the others, but the timeline was giving them one that needed their attention immediately. Somehow, Robin knew if they could find the answer to that problem, all the others would fall into place.
"Starfire and D'ucel should be returning from their information retrieval missions soon. Maybe they can shed some light on our situation." Aqualad presented.
Those particular missions had become few and far between as it was increasingly harder to stay in touch with the young heroes of the world. Already Hot Spot and Mas y Menos had dropped off their radar. When luck arose and new informants introduced themselves, they usually had no new information to present.
If not for the hope each mission had the potential for, Robin would have stopped their outreach all together. The Titans' leader had been wearing a frown for the last few weeks. Things used to change in rapid succession when they were younger: when the Titans were Teens and when good always conquered evil. But now when the balance of power had shifted in favor of the machinations of evil men, the world stopped and presented its dark face to those who sought justice, righteousness and liberty.
In Robin's head ran memories upon memories when the Titans were a team that could not be stopped. Even before the ties that bonded them so closely together had formed, there was an absoluteness about the inexhaustible capacity of the Titans' power. When he was just a fledgling leader, everything about his team had amazed him: Beast Boy's quick wit, Starfire's infinite arsenal, Cyborg's strength, Speedy's skill… everything about them.
ºRobin hadn't known Raven was such a good martial artist until he spared against her. The Titans' eight, the collective unit before Sakura became a permanent fixture, trained together in the most elaborate of their obstacle courses. It was a design tournament, based on what the male Titans had witnessed in the Tournament of Heroes, where each level had obstacles that tested their particular skills and stamina. Robin had proved to be a master of more than just heroes: he defeated Starfire and Cyborg to make it to the next plateau. He had expected a rematch with Speedy, from the other end of the brackets, but instead he found Raven. She had beaten both Speedy and Beast Boy to make it to the final level with him.
He had expected her to use only the arsenal of her magic and was surprised with the way her legs shot out with controlled moves. He realized that Raven was more than competent in fighting; she flexed her dark powers just as readily as spin kicks and blocks. She could defend and counter and hurl her might in a way that made Robin almost positive that she was testing him. But there was something obvious, something he noticed when his throw had pulled her hood from her face. Her eyes were sad, she didn't want to fight Robin; it wasn't the way she wanted to prove to herself that she had made the right decision to make him the leader of the Titans. She wanted to be able to trust him in a fight without a fight. She wanted his character, not just his skill and Robin wasn't sure he was giving it to her.
The way his body danced, the graceful movements he had honed since he was a child, moved him in a way that would inspire the wind to turn. He could see how her purple eyes followed him when her dark power trailed after him. He skid to a stop and changed his attack plan. Raven's energy claws sung out and Robin's bow staff and discs matched her and triumphed over her too.
Raven drop kicked him, the blow striking his face. Her eyes were wide as she watched him take the blow and roll stiffly against the floor.
"Robin? Are you okay? I told you I didn't want to do this… I didn't want to hurt you."
"You can't hurt me Raven." Robin said quickly, the surprise in Raven's face allowed Robin to swing his legs, sweep kicking her and taking her footing from under her. She fell to her bottom stiffly as Robin twisted his hips and pulled himself to his feet. "Trust me. Don't be afraid to give me all you've got. You won't break me. You have my word."
He could tell from her face that she was surprised but obviously relieved. She back rolled out of danger and prepared to give him everything she had.º
He had seen her move freely then, had seen her prepared to let herself trust Robin to stay strong no matter how much of her demonic skill was thrown against him. He hadn't known then that she was teaching him to protect himself should all the tragic things in her life course come true.
She had been preparing him all along to keep him strong, to keep him safe, to lead the Titans through a dark age… she had prepared him, but he had let her down on his part.
He was doing everything in his power to rectify his mistakes.
…
Starfire and D'ucel returned that afternoon, before their meeting had adjourned.
"Star, Fox, what have you been able to find out?" Cyborg asked.
"Unfortunately Red Star had no new information. I am afraid he has his own worries to contend with." Star admitted.
"The Wildebeest Society could not be of assistance. They, too, are occupied with the movements of the Brotherhood of Evil." Foxfire added.
"I'm keeping in contact with the Doom Patrol… hopefully they can come up with something to reduce the pressure we're all feeling from the Brotherhood." BB said.
"Thanks BB. Any help at all would be beneficial."
"I do not wish to interrupt," D'ucel said. "But something concerns me."
"What is it Fox?"
"Perhaps Cyborg, I am wondering if you can tell of the error in my communicator."
Cyborg frowned. "Error?" The mechanical Titan took the device. Nothing seemed to be wrong with it.
"Yes, during communication, I received a transmission addressed to you."
"Me?" Cyborg asked.
"It was not a complete transmission."
"Why would Fox get a message for Cyborg?"
"My radio frequency is the same as the communicator… but we've never had a cross-communication before…"
"Maybe it was from someone without a Titan's communicator who didn't know your exact frequency." Robin posited.
"Maybe. Fox, do you know who it was from?"
"No, it was interrupted. It was a female, requesting your assistance."
"A female?"
"Could it have been Raven?" Robin stood up, nearly knocking over his chair.
"I do not believe so… the voice was not familiar to me."
Cyborg frowned, staring down at the device. Celine tapped his arm.
"Maybe part of the message was encrypted into the communication network. We may be able to trace it back to wherever it came from." Celine suggested.
"Right, Omicron, I think there's a function on your console that's best suited for this."
The two stood up and went to Celine's control panel. As their fingers rushed along keys rapidly, the other Titans turned their attention back to the meeting.
"D'ucel, can you give us any specifics?"
"Unfortunately I cannot. There was no visual image and the voice was interrupted by static."
"When did you get the message?"
"As I was making my return. I believe I was over the desert between Bludhaven and the city of Steel."
Robin frowned. "What else do you know?"
"It was a girl and she asked for Cyborg's assistance."
"Cyborg," Robin called over to his second-in-command. "Anything yet?"
"Not yet."
"Any guesses, anything?"
Celine shook her head. "We're not getting any traces of the communication. We'll keep looking though."
The team could hear the pounding of keys, Celine and Cyborg's talents worked along side each others in a way that could only be expected from the two of them. Their varying levels of genius and mechanical know how had been something they had relied on immensely; it was something that rarely let them down: though it was lost on no one that neither of them had been able to make a push the last few years.
But then again, none of them really had. Robin stood up and left the common room. His feet took him to the medic room where he found Sakura, just as he sadly expected, though Speedy wasn't there. Robin frowned; he figured the other masked hero was in the bathroom or something.
Last year when Bruce had come to see Sakura, he had made Speedy prove to him that he was doing the right thing by leaving Sakura in his care. Speedy didn't need words, didn't need to declare his ever lasting devotion and love. He spoke something much louder than words, promises and declarations ever could have.
He had taken off his mask and showed Bruce Wayne his identity. Robin had been so surprised that he had turned his head as to not catch a glimpse of who was behind the agile archer Speedy. But he did turn and he saw eyes so green Robin couldn't help but stare. He and Bruce had looked back at Speedy, and Robin had almost been inspired by Speedy's trust in Bruce and himself, to take off his own mask.
But he hadn't. He stared back at the man, who loved his sister more than he could say in words, through masked eyes. Exactly three people knew what color eyes Robin had: Bruce and Alfred weren't telling anyone and Sakura wasn't in the position to. As much as he wanted a forth person to know that level of his history, that fourth person was not Speedy.
Raven… Where are you? What will it take to get you back to me… so I can show you that you weren't wrong to trust me… weren't wrong to love me… I could show you everything you mean to me… show you that I won't ever hide myself from you again… I'll be any part of myself for you, anything you want… When I get you back… I'll…
Speedy walked in and took a look at Sakura's biostatistics monitor. Nothing had changed in the three minutes he had been gone. Speedy wasn't surprised to find Robin looking over his sister. The two had made something of a brotherhood between the two of them: much to the result of Bruce Wayne's pushing. Speedy had only heard rumors of Bruce Wayne's wisdom and generosity, but the legend lived up to his hype and demonstrated qualities of a man that both Robin and Speedy wanted to possess.
Speedy and Robin trained together. Something in Speedy told him that Sakura would never forgive him when she woke up if he didn't give her a good fight. Speedy's arrows would sing through the air, chasing the long-haired Titans' leader through back flips and round-offs. Robin's exploding disks would cut through the air and match Speedy's skill. For hours at a time the two would hammer at each other and demand with their own skills for the other to get better. Every fight they matched the call.
Sometimes Speedy won, sometimes Robin and sometimes they beat each other so evenly and thoroughly that neither of them was in any shape to train again for days. Their bodies could endure much more punishment then they had when they were young heroes battling in a tournament of their peers. Their strengths and speeds had nearly doubled: Speedy's releases were fractions-of-a-second faster and Robin's reaction times shortened with every increase in Speedy's skill. They could stand toe to toe, at nearly six feet tall, and stare into the mask of their opponent as their arms flexed to grip a bow or a bo-staff.
They could stand toe to toe as men facing the same fear in different degrees. Eventually they'd stand toe to toe as men worthy of Bruce Wayne's praise. Bruce had told them, that there was empire of fortune in making sure that the love they wanted was the love they held onto and protected forever. His own love life was a complication of tragedy and hope, without which Robin wouldn't be alive and without which Speedy wouldn't have a love.³ They owed Bruce to never again let the love they had slip through their fingers: Speedy had to be ready to welcome Sakura into his arms and protect her, Robin had to find Raven and keep her safe for the rest of her life.
The two men had bonded in a brotherhood to make sure that they kept that promise.
Speedy turned to his brother in arms, ready to say something and Robin turned ready to hear. His would be conversation starter was interrupted when the Titans' alarm went off. Robin frowned, Speedy raised his eyebrow. The Titans' leader opened his communicator and connected to Celine.
"Celine, what's going on?"
"We've got movement!"
"What? What is it?"
"Blood."
Robin left Speedy behind as he broke into a run to the common room. The automatic doors didn't seem to open fast enough for Robin; he nearly collided with the receding panels, dashing in like mad to stand beside his team.
Celine's fingers were dashing against her panel, just as Cyborg's were.
"What? What's going on?"
"We've got activity! The scanners have picked up the Fearsome Five moving in the Ronaro desert east of Steel City!"
"I'm getting a lock on their exact coordinates. Got 'em! Thirteen miles north of Bludhaven in a bromide cave!"
"This is the first time anything related to Blood has moved. This could be what we need!"
"Titans! Go!"
…
Beat, Beat Heartbeat…
Robin's heart throbbed in his chest as he navigated the R-cycle over the Ronaro desert. His heartbeat had never been so painful. He didn't think his chest could take it. But his will forced his body to endure it. The Titans moved in packs. Robin's R-cycle sped ahead of the T-car which was loaded with Cyborg, Celine, Beast Boy and Aqualad. Above them Star, Blackfire and D'ucel flew as fast as they could, their eyes ablaze and focused. All of their hearts were pounding as they listened to Celine's communication.
"We've got movement from the Fearsome Five: Jinx, Gizmo, See-more, Private Hive and Mammoth. No trace of Brother Blood, but getting one of them will get us closer to Blood and the Slade Syndicate. Knowing the HIVE academy system: we'll want Jinx or Gizmo."
Robin nodded and revved his motor as the distance between them and the bromide cave became shorter and shorter. His motor cycle spun out, the spinning back wheel kicking up dirt. His visor pulled a yellow tint on the scenery, but when he pulled the helmet off, he found that the mouth of the cave was yellow, there was obviously flames lighting the path and even from the entrance they could see there was activity within. The rest of the Titans banded beside Robin. Cyborg readied his beam cannon and Celine pulled her Firefly into a grip she could run with.
Their pace was fast but short lived; they were surprised to see that the stretch of shadows weren't exaggerating the distance between them and the movement inside. It only took one minute to get to the thick of things.
And they couldn't have been more surprised with what they found.
They found Jinx… vs. the Fearsome Five.
They could see that the natural grace was wounded. Her evasive back flips weren't nearly as well trained as they had seen them. There was an effort behind them: she was obviously injured. Her movements her labored, but good enough to keep her out of danger.
Gizmo laughed mechanically as he stalked forward, his missiles firing forward to chase Jinx across the cave. The girl tumbled to the side, the missiles missing and exploding against the cave walls. The pink haired girl extended an unwounded arm, firing hex waves that connected with Gizmo's mechanical body, hurling the half-pint HIVE graduate across the cave. The move left her open to an attack. Mammoth slammed his shoulder into her side, throwing the girl across the ground; her moving body kicked up dirt and blocked her view only for a moment as Private Hive attacked.
The Titans were frozen in place as they watched Jinx counter the attack with a back sacrifice throw. Jinx turned to watch Private Hive soar clear over her head, leaving a leg extending behind her. Mammoth exploited her mistake, grabbing the outstretched limb and using it as a handle. He wrenched her off the ground and turned his body in a fierce spin before letting Jinx go to slam in the cave wall. Jinx's body twisted and corrected its orientation; her feet and hands met the cave wall, her outstretched right leg absorbing the force.⁴ Her breathing was hard as she maintained her crouch, defying gravity, her pink eyes scanning over the cave. Her eyes passed the four HIVE members after her life and saw the Titans watching with surprise. Her eyes widened in relief.
"Cyborg! Help!"
Cyborg jumped back in surprise. The rest of the Titans raised their eyebrows at the request. Cyborg took a step forward, but his foot hadn't touched down. Gizmo released a barrage of missiles, half trained at Jinx, the other at the Titans. Jinx somersaulted from the wall, landing in a crouch as the Titans shielded their eyes.
"They can't help you now."
Cyborg raised his head from the smoke, his eyes and Celine's equally wide when they placed the voice.
Brother Blood emerged from the spin of dust to stand in the apex of their collective gazes. He stood in his red robes in the epicenter of the Titans, Jinx and the Fearsome Five-minus one. Jinx's eyes widened in shock. She moved, pushing her body back and breaking the equilateral triangle. Blood watched her, his eyes fixed between the second triangle within the first: the triangle of Cyborg, Jinx and Celine.
"What's going on?" Cyborg asked.
"Once again I'm dealing with another spy. Tell me, Jinx, Cyborg, Celine… was anyone at my school actually there to learn?"
"We learned alright, Headmaster. Let us at 'em." Mammoth replied, cracking his knuckles.
"Have fun my children, but leave Cyborg, Celine and Jinx to me."
Celine's eyes widened when Brother Blood made the initial dash at Jinx. The red haired genius dropped the Firefly across her shoulder and unleashed a barrage of sonic shots trained at the rushing Blood. He moved nimbly between them and Jinx's eyes widened as his approach was imminent. It was at the last moment, when Blood spun a leg to strike her down that a shot from Celine's cannon knocked Blood from his assault. Brother Blood let out a shout as he slammed to the ground. It was nearly swallowed by Cyborg's battle roar as he leapt forward to strike out at his nemesis.
Eye beams tore through the cave as Blackfire did her part in keeping See-more at bay. Starfire and Robin worked together. Star launched the Titans' leader who dealt out expert kicks that devastated Private Hive. D'ucel's raining Fox shots kept Gizmo dancing around, weaving between each furious energy ball. Mammoth was holding his own against Aqualad's hooks, catching the Atlantian's arm and throwing him across Beast Boy's vision. The green changeling morphed in a bull and stampeded into the massive anti-hero. Mammoth met him head on, gripping his horns and trying to push him backwards as his feet dragged against the ground.
Blood moved against Cyborg's attacks and underneath Celine's advances. Behind them, Jinx held her shoulder. The half-demon watched the movements before her, trying to find someway to shift the fight. Blood kicked Celine away the girl landing a few inches from Jinx. Jinx frowned, but that was immediately erased when she saw Brother Blood leap forward to drive his knee into Celine's vulnerable back. In his decent he was helpless against Jinx's catapult kick, the blow knocked Blood backward, but it did not stop Jinx's rush. As Brother Blood turned his body to land on his feet, Jinx's foot lashed out, the straight kick connecting with Blood's chest. She carried the momentum, spinning her heel across his cheek before turning a cartwheel, the toe of her boots crashing into Blood's face. She landed in a low crouch and as Blood recovered, she dropped into an Art of Phoenix stance.⁵
Robin's battle roar scared Mammoth as much as Robin's incoming assault. Robin's boots connected with Mammoth's breadbasket, hunching the massive anti-hero, leaving him open for Robin's back somersault, his toes connecting with Mammoth's chin. As Robin's body turned backwards, so did Mammoth's, but while Robin landed on his feet, Mammoth landed with a solid thud on his back. Gizmo tore through the air, dodging purple eyebeams and Starbolts. He ducked and weaved coming close enough to spring a net that captured Blackfire and dropped the Tameranian powerhouse to the floor. Starfire gasped and dove to free her sister. Gizmo laughed mechanically until a T-Rex crunched down on his wings and shook him like a rag doll.
Cyborg's fists hammered down on Brother Blood's guard. Celine waited with her Firefly across her shoulder for Cyborg to give her the opportunity.
"Where have you been all this time?" Cyborg grunted out, as his massive hands swung outwards in brute force.
"Enduring malcontents!" Blood replied, leaping up and delivering a spin kick that knocked Cyborg away. Blood's smug smile lasted only a second before a sonic blast from the Firefly smashed into his side. He turned his head to her, watching her eyes narrow behind her sight as she took aim again. He smiled coolly.
Starfire caught Private Hive in a Tameranian submission maneuver. She held it tight and unforgiving, the Titans were reduced by a fighter, but they had one less opponent to deal with. Aqualad's grip on See-more gave him the leverage to deliver an over head throw, sending the villain into the southern wall. Blackbolts rained down from the sky, making sure that See-more saw nothing more for the rest of the fight.
Brother Blood knocked aside Jinx's Dragon Fly kick, but Jinx recovered, dropping back into the Art of Phoenix. Her hips twisted, launching her legs from underneath her and up into Blood's middle. He took the first shot, but blocked the second and countered the third, grabbing Jinx's ankle and tossing her side. Cyborg grappled him from behind, wrenching an arm behind his back. The two grunted and groaned as they struggled for dominance before missiles erupted behind Cyborg, turning his attention. Blood capitalized and tossed Cyborg over his shoulder, slamming him into Jinx. Celine dropped to a knight's kneel, sending a sonic beam over Blood's shoulder and crashing into Gizmo. Blood smiled and dashed at her. Celine couldn't recover fast enough and when Blood struck she could do nothing but watch.
Her brown eyes widened in shock and the rest of the cave seemed to cease all motion. The crack of energy stunned them all. Celine heard the results of the attack. Her weapon was hot, it hissed and sparked. Celine's ears were drumming; her eyes were painfully dry from her inability to blink. At her feet was the severed barrel of her Firefly… above her head was standing Blood, holding Red Hawk's sword.
"That's… how did you?"
"Red Hawk was just as much my creation as she was yours… I suppose that entitles me to her gifts."
"But she's in jail and the sword was stored separately."
"Getting them both was as simple as freeing Professor Chang. He opened the lock and got me what I needed."
"And where is Red Hawk?"
"I destroyed her… she turned out to be too much like you… she turned out to be useless as well."
Blood drew back the sword to attack. Celine flinched and closed her eyes for the strike that didn't come. Celine felt the shadow moving over her body, the cloth moving freely against the movement. Her eyes opened and she saw the struggle.
Jinx held a slip of paper between her fingers. In front of Jinx, Blood wore a face of confusion. His grey eyes darted back and forth as if looking for something… as if looking for Celine.
A-look-over-me hex?⁶
Jinx stood between Blood and Celine, one of her hands grabbed the swinging arm and the other twisted in a complicated pattern that was tattooed against Blood's chest. Celine could see over Jinx's shoulder that he was losing control of his body. Jinx let go of Blood's swinging arm, but Blood didn't continue the attack. His face was flustered, his lips sputtering, unable to make a sound. Jinx took a hesitant step backwards, her shoulder brushing Celine's as the taller girl stood behind her.
Jinx pulled a narrow slip of paper from her sleeve. The paper became stiff as she whispered a curse.
"Endari Ende Mortix!"
The paper generated a demonic wave, shooting dark energy across the cave. All the members of the HIVE were triumphed by it. All resistance was suppressed as their bodies were weighed down by Jinx's power. But the Titans were unaffected.
"How did you do that?" Celine asked.
Jinx shook her head. "That may not hold for long… we've got to get out of here." Jinx warned. She reached up smoothly and pulled the sword from Blood's grasp. Brother Blood sneered and tried to overcome the hex, but for the moment it was too tightly woven.
Celine reached down and grabbed the severed half of Firefly. She wanted to stay and capture Blood, but she could see that he was already breaking free and without her weapon, without the Titans at full power, they wouldn't be successful.
The Titans dashed from the cave, leaving the villains to struggle behind them. The second the last Titan cleared the cave, Jinx turned back towards the entrance. She removed two more slips of paper and whispered again.
"Endari Ende Mortix." She pressed the papers on either side of the entrance. She frowned and stepped back.
"What was that?" BB asked.
"I placed a seal on the cave… it won't hold long… but it will give us some time."
"Us?" Aqualad asked.
The team watched Jinx toss Celine Red Hawk's sword. The red haired girl caught it with a frown. She looked over the sword before turning her eyes back to the girl who had given it to her. All the Titans stared back at Jinx. Cyborg stepped forward and asked what was on all of their minds.
"Jinx… what was that?"
"Blood was trying to stop me…"
"Stop you from what?"
"From getting to you…" Jinx replied. "But he failed…"
Robin frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You got my message, didn't you?"
"Your message?" Cyborg asked.⁷
Jinx nodded. "I needed to tell you… I know where she is."
End of Part Five
A/N
¹Without a doubt, that passage was not meant to show sympathy for Terra. That's just a glimpse into her character state, how easily she turned against the Titans, not because of what Slade said, but because of what kind of person see was: a bad one.
²That go-to-go was Professor Chang.
³ If Bruce hadn't lost Asuka, Robin would never have been born and Sakura would have never met Speedy. So Bruce had to lose so Speedy and Robin could win.
⁴Any of you familiar with Advent Children, you'll recognize this as the eye candy in the Tifa vs. Loz fight.
⁵Jinx fights with the Hakke Ken, Hike Ken & Various Chinese Martial Arts styles of Ling Xiaoyu in Tekken Five.
⁶A look-over-me hex is exactly what it sounds like, it allows a person and anything very close to it to go unseen by the target.
⁷D'ucel said he got the message between Bludhaven and Steel City, which is where the Bromide cave was. Also, the transmission was looking for Cyborg and originating from a female without a Titans' communicator. All signs pointed to Jinx. (well, you didn't know that…)