Disclaimer: I most assuredly do not possess any form or fashion of ownership of the Teen Titans franchise… Heh, sounded smart, didn't I?

Gunsmoke and Black Roses—Chapter Eight

The night was an unusually dark one… the sky was overcast and the streets of Jump City held scant few people that were still out this late. Most people would be at home, asleep in their beds. The only thing that kept some people up this late was if they had some sort of business.

Such was the case with Smoke. He knew what he needed to do, and he knew he had a limited time to do it in. So, he had to hurry.

The memories that the gunman held of the Jump City Military Base… were not pleasant. He had no contact with the rest of the world… except through figures wearing white coats and surgical masks… he hated them all. Every last one, even though he didn't even know their names. Except for one… the one he hated the most.

Professor Karl Wagner… the lead scientist on the 'Super-Soldier' project. He was a brilliant man, no doubt about it. He was very talented… but absolutely cruel. He would've just as soon dissected one of his own assistants as he would a rat, or a frog… and to him, Smoke had been a weapon; he'd been a tool. He had been referred to as…. 'It'… That infuriated Smoke.

And now, even though Smoke had escaped the place, and discovered a new life with new friends… they still wouldn't leave him alone! They hounded him still! But all that was about to change…

He was going back. And they were going downhard.

As Smoke made his way through the dark streets and alleys of Jump City, he thought of his new friends… the ones who, in his mind, he had come to think of as his 'Protectors'. For the first time in his life… people actually cared about him. They didn't think of him as a weapon… or a tool… or an It… They thought of him as a person. And that was what he had longed for all along.

He thought of Robin… a natural leader, from what he could tell. Although The Boy Wonder had been suspicious at first, he had welcomed Smoke with open arms once convinced he wasn't a threat. For that, Smoke was extremely grateful.

Also, he found his thoughts drifting to Starfire. Cheerful and vibrant, she was one of the most enjoyable people to be around… Err, when she wasn't choking you to death with one of her hugs. He knew, of course, that she had nothing but good intentions… but he had a sneaky suspicion that she did not realize her own strength.

Cyborg and Beast Boy were quite a pair, as well. They were complete opposites in every way. Meat, Vegetarian… Big, little… you get the idea. But despite that, they were still the best of friends, and always seemed to be playing video games or doing something or other with each other.

Raven… now there was an odd one. Had one of her relatives died recently, or was she always so gloomy? He wasn't sure… but hey, she was pretty cool, though. Even if she did sort of give him the creeps, she seemed nice enough. And besides, she could boil a mean kettle of tea.

As Smoke dodged a couple pedestrians with cell phones by hiding in an alley, he thought also of Sub-Zero. Now there was a swell guy if he'd ever met one. He'd quickly befriended Smoke, and Hell, he'd even named him. It only made good sense that He and Smoke had become fast friends.

Thoughts of his friend Zero reminded him of Zero's girlfriend. When he'd first met her, he'd been afraid he was in for another Raven. But the girl in question… Jinx, as it turned out her name was… happened to be much more lively and cheerful than Raven. Her name was probably the most fitting for her… her powers were based on luck and chance.

Lastly… he remembered Blackfire. Star's sister. Things seemed to have gone well between them, earlier. He was happy for that. When he thought of Blackfire, one word came to mind: Hotness. But besides that, she had also been quite nice to him… until she'd seen his communicator, anyway. Then, she'd tried to kill him, but hey, that was just a misunderstanding.

"Hmm… I wonder if Star could hook me up…?" Smoke mused softly to himself as he made his way down an empty street. But then, he shook his head and sighed softly. "Yeah right… like she'd see anything in me!"

His friends were all that mattered to him now. But he'd never get to enjoy time with them, if he couldn't get the leathernecks off his back.

Finally, he arrived at the gates of the base. The massive complex loomed up in front of him like a mountain of brick and steel. On the outside, it looked like any military base. A parking lot full of humvees… those army trucks that look like large hummers with armor plating… was out front. The building itself consisted mainly of red brick with occasional spots of shining metallic steel.

Making his way carefully to the front doors, he found that they were locked.

Wordlessly, the young gunner removed his massive chainsaw from his waist… and gave the crank a quick tug. There was a loud, grating screech as the chainsaw whirred to life, black smoke billowing out of it's thick, silver exhaust pipes.

With a look of pleased determination, Smoke lifted the cranked blade above his head… and then drove it into side of the doorframe. Slowly, with the sparking and shrieking of metal cutting metal, Smoke sawed the big double doors off their hinges. As the blade cut up the metal edges of the doors, they groaned loudly and then collapsed under their own weight… they fell inwards and thunked onto the ground.

Letting the chainsaw motor die back down, he kept it in one hand. With the other hand, he reached into the large leather holster on his back, and pulled out his quad-barreled 10 gauge. Saw and shotgun in hand, he stepped into the dark corridors of the military base…

Meanwhile, in Titan's Tower…

Sub-Zero had been in his bed for a while now… but he was unable to sleep, despite his fatigue.

He was worried, extremely so. He was also beginning to see just how foolish his promise had been. He had just allowed his friend to go running off into the night in order to fight off an entire building full of armed, hostile thugs single-handedly.

"Great move, Sub-Zero…" The knight muttered to himself. "Do you really think he's gonna be able to fight off an army of soldiers all by his lonesome?"

As the knight continued his mental self-berating, he was too distracted by his thoughts to even notice that the door to his room was slowly and gradually swinging open.

It was Jinx. She stepped quietly inside, being careful not to awaken him in case he was asleep. She didn't know he was still awake. Her hair was down, and she was dressed in a deep purple nightgown.

Sub-Zero just barely heard a quiet, small footstep… and looked over to see her standing there. Realizing he was awake, she walked closer to him. He was reminded of how her feline eyes almost seemed to shine in the dark.

"Huh? Jinx? Why are you still up?" He yawned.

She looked at him intently. "I just wanted… to talk to you."

"At this hour?"

"I… couldn't sleep."

"S'all right. Neither could I."

She walked over and sat down on the bed next to him. She looked… concerned.

"Jinx, is…. Is something wrong?" Zero asked in concern.

She looked at him again, and opened her mouth… but nothing came out.

"Whatever it is… you can tell me." He assured her.

Finally, she found her voice.

"Zero… why didn't you tell me you were getting homesick…?" The sorceress asked hesitantly.

Sub-Zero sat there for a moment, completely silent. It took a second for the question to sink in… When it did, his eyes widened and his mouth went slack-jawed.

"…What? Howdid you…?"

Jinx looked down at the ground guiltily. Would he be mad at her for listening in on him and Smoke that night? She hadn't really been eavesdropping, but still…

"Well… I … I overheard you… that night on the rooftop…" She exlplained.

He blinked and sighed heavily. "I suppose you heard Smoke's gunshot?"

"Um… Yes." She nodded. "Zero… are you mad at me?"

He looked over in surprise and then shook his head violently. "Of course not! It's just… I didn't expect you to know…."

Jinx sighed to herself, and thought, 'Okay… it's now… or never.'

"Zero…?"

"Hmm?"

"I've been thinking… maybe… we could…" Jinx seemed hesitant to finish the sentence.

"… Yes?" Zero asked gently.

"Maybe we could go back?"

He looked at her blankly, his red eyes puzzled. "Go back where?"

Jinx mentally slapped herself in the forehead. Her boyfriend was a good fighter, and a gentleman… but not the sharpest tool in the shed at times.

"Your home! Your island!" She said in a this-is-obvious type voice. "Y'know… Just you and me… go there on your ship? Like a … a vacation, sort've!" She purred.

For the first time that night, Sub-Zero smiled.

"It… would be wonderful to see home again…." He said slowly. "But the others…"

Jinx cut him off. "I've already asked Robin and the others. They thought it was a great idea."

Zero stared. "… Really?"

"Really." Jinx replied with a giggle. "So… do you want to?"

For another moment, Sub-Zero was silent. Then, a warm smile spread quickly across his face. It was obvious what he was going to say next.

"… I'd love to!"

Inside The Jump City Military Base…

A pair of patrolling guards was coming down a dimly lit corridor. They were on routine guard duty, basement level. Armed with Laser rifles and frag grenades, they were amply prepared for anything that might come their way.

Or so they thought…

There was the sudden sound of somebody tossing an empty soda can against a wall. They whipped around and looked… nothing there. While they were turned around, they didn't notice a shadowy figure coming up behind them with a big-Assed chainsaw…

'Vrrum….Vrrooom….Vra Vra VREEEEEEEEE!'

'AAAARRRRRRGHGHGH!"

A minute later, there was nothing left of the two idiots that couldn't be stuffed inside a nearby crate. The figure, Smoke, stopped the saw, and walked calmly down the hallway. A moment later… an alarm began blaring, and red lights were beginning to flash everywhere.

"Heh…. If they didn't know I was here before… they do now."

Breaking into a run, Smoke saw a large pair of hangar-style doors at the end of the hallway. He didn't know what was on the other end, but he didn't care. After all, he wasn't going anywhere in particular… He was just looking to clean this place out.

He was almost to the doors… about twenty feet away… when they suddenly began to slowly slide open… Revealing an entire platoon of armored soldiers. And they weren't using stun guns this time, either… they all had grenade launchers.

"Well… I guess the Doc thinks I'm worth killin' now, eh?" Smoke chuckled loudly enough for them to hear.

"Prototype number 8675309! You have officially been designated for termination due to unruly, rebellious behavior and dangerous side-effects!"

(A/N: Heheheheh… Kudos to anybody that can find the hidden joke in that line….)

"I guess that's polite words for saying you're about to kill me, huh?" Smoke said grimly. "Well, then…." In a second, his shotgun was out and loaded. "… Bring it on."

An instant later, the shots rang out.

Smoke leapt up and grabbed a pipe on the ceiling, hanging there. Several grenades rolled harmlessly below him and exploded behind him. With a pull of the trigger, Smoke's shotgun spit shot into their ranks, taking out two or three of them. As more grenades came flying, he dropped from the pipe and dashed behind a cement wall.

"Looks like you guys don't realize who you're messin' with…" Smoke chuckled. Holstering his shotgun, he got up his revolvers.

He stuck his head around the corner of the cement wall and fired off a salvo of bullets. A dozen more goons fell to the ground dead, smoking holes in various areas. Smoke stopped to reload, and swung open his revolver cylinders. Grabbing a handful of bullets out of his backpack, he reloaded and snapped the cylinders back into place.

Poking his head back up, he had just enough time to see a grenade coming barreling through the air at him. Reflexively, he took quick aim and fired, causing the grenade to explode before it ever hit him.

A five-minute gunfight went on, Smoke's .44 magnums spitting fire into the dark corridor, illuminating his determined face for a couple seconds at a time…

Finally, the guards' numbers had been reduced to four. They must've realized they didn't stand a chance, because they turned and retreated.

"Oh no, y'don't….." Smoke growled softly.

Grabbing his rifle out of his side-holster, he took quick, precise aim through the scope.

There was an eardrum splitting gunshot, then another, and then another, and another… the four remaining thugs were dead.

Levering more bullets into his rifle chamber, he smiled and put his guns up. He carefully stepped forward, taking special care to step on each and every one of the bullet-ridden bodies, and made his way forward.

Meanwhile, Professor Karl Wagner was in his laboratory. He had heard the gunshots. He knew whom… or, to him, what… was here. Walking over to an intercom-like device, he pressed the switch and spoke into it.

"Attention all base personnel… I want every damn soldier on this base to report to floor 20 B, ASAP! Bring all armor and weaponry!"

He grumbled softly to himself and walked back over to his desk. Sitting down at a computer, he began typing away furiously…

Smoke, while all this was going on, had found the elevator. Pressing the button for 20 B, he pressed it and leaned against the wall, whistling in an unconcerned manner. He waited… and soon, there was an off-key ding, and the doors grated open.

He remembered this floor… well. He was quickly able to find the storage room. Going in, he loaded up on some more bullets and shells, just in case.

Looking over on a shelf labeled, 'high explosives', he found a large time bomb. Smiling wickedly, he tucked it into the front pocket of his backpack.

"Hah… you'd think the Doc would be smart enough to keep this room locked up… Oh, well…"

Smoke could've sworn he heard noises outside… but he was preoccupied with loading more ammo into his pack. Unbeknownst to him, every armed soldier in the base was gathering outside the room he was in…

"Well… that should just about do it." He nodded, pleased with his re-stocking of ammo. He put his pack back on, and walked up to the door. Swinging it carelessly open with one hand.

And realized… he was screwed.

There, in front of him, were at least one hundred armed and armored soldiers with all manner of grenade launchers, auto-rifles, stun guns, acid guns, and god-knows-what-else…

"…. OhShit…." Smoke moaned softly.

Professor Wagner was still inside his lab office, typing away at his computer keyboard… when all of the sudden, he heard another section of that floor of the base suddenly come alive with echoing gunshots, booming explosions, the crackling of flames, and the hiss of smoke and steam. The cacophony was one of loud, utter chaos. It sounded like… a war zone, out there. The only thing missing was the buzzing of overhead bombers… This went on for a grand total of 30 minutes. Then, without any warning whatsoever, it just went dead silent.

Carefully, he got up from his desk and stepped hesitantly to the doorway, assuming the guards had taken care of the mad prototype once and for all.

Wrong.

He found it was extremely difficult to open the door… and once he managed to shove it open, he realized it was because there was a stack of charred bodies propped up against it. In fact, the entire floor was covered in gunshot-covered bodies of his grunts. And many were cut up into pieces…

And then, he saw a sight that nearly made his heart stop…

There, in the midst of all this destruction… was a silhouette. It was black as death, and hunched over as if in exhaustion. Then, it lifted it's shadowed head up and looked around, as if reveling in the destruction it had caused. Then, it slowly and purposely stepped forward. It was Smoke.

"So… Whaddup, Doc?" He chuckled darkly, approaching Prof. Wagner with a single revolver raised. As he strode forward, he was absent-mindedly spinning the cylinder of his revolver, as if bored. With the other hand, he was fiddling with the straps of his overalls… And he was covered in what looked horribly like blood. "I don't suppose you have time for one more session… I'm ready to resolve my anger issues…."

Panicking, the evil prof. ran back to his office and closed the door. Smoke slammed the door in after him.

Wordlessly, Smoke grabbed the doc and lifted him up by the coat. With a grunt of effort, Smoke punched into a wall, and tore out several thick wires and cords. Quickly, he tied Wagner up with them.

"What the deuce are you doing?" The Mad Scientist demanded.

"Finishing what I started."

Reaching into his pack… he grabbed the time bomb from earlier, and stuck it to Wagner's forehead. He set it for 20 minutes.

Rushing out and leaving the immobile and panicked villain there, he made his way back to the elevator. He took it back up to the surface floor. Once there, he ran into the parking lot.

Grinning, Smoke pulled into a pocket in his black leather jacket… and pulled out some keys he had gotten off of a slain guard. He eyed the nearby humvees greedily…

The Next Morning, At Titan's Tower…

Robin yawned and walked into the living room. He looked around and saw that Jinx and Sub-Zero were already in there.

"Hey guys… what's up?"

Jinx smiled brightly and responded. "Zero and I are going on that vacation, we discussed earlier." She purred.

"If you don't mind." Zero added quickly.

The Boy Wonder smiled, knowing what they were talking about. "Sure… I don't care. Go for it!"

Zero grinned lopsidedly and began to thank Robin… but was interrupted when Cy suddenly burst open the door and came storming in.

"Okay, does anybody wanna explain to me why my Car got moved to make room for a big-ass army truck?" He demanded.

They stared blankly.

"Uhh… Army truck?" Robin asked slowly.

"Yeah! There's an army humvee with a camouflage paint job parked in MY garage!"

"That would be mine." A voice from behind said.

Cy turned around to see Smoke standing there.

"I'm sorry… I would've asked for permission, but you were asleep."

Cy stared. "It's fine, I guess but… Where did you get one of those?"

"Ah well… I did some late night shopping last night… just so happens a car dealer had one lying around that he didn't even want. Let me have it free of charge."

Everybody looked at him strangely, but did not question him further.

Sub-Zero was laughing inwardly. He thought he had a feeling where he'd gotten that truck….

"Anyway, Cy… can I borrow some of your tools again?" Smoke asked.

"Sure… why?"

"I'm going to make a few… tune ups…. On my new ride."

Abruptly, the door opened again and Beast Boy came in clutching a newspaper.

"Guys! Guys! Check this out!" The shape shifter yelped, pointing at the front page.

"Calm down!" Robin said. "What is it?"

Wordlessly, B.B. shoved the paper at Robin, who took it and began to read out loud.

"The downtown Jump City Military base was mysteriously bombed last night. No survivors have been discovered in the rubble, but the building itself was completely destroyed…." Robin's eyebrows raised in shock. "Holy…."

"Well…. How about that?" Smoke whistled, feigning surprise. "I guess… I guess I wasn't the only one who had the army on our bad side, eh?"

Then, smiling serenely, the gunman got up and went down to the garage.

For a moment, they were silent… then, Jinx spoke up.

"Is it just me…. Or is Smoke more cheerful than usual this morning?"

That's it for this chapter. Read and Review, let me know what you thought.

-The Mad Phantom