Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans in any way or part.

Gunsmoke And Black Roses—Chapter Twenty-Six

Smoke's mind was in bad shape. He never thought; he only acted. His vision consisted mainly of blurred redness with pulsing white silhouettes where people were. In his maddened state, he attacked indiscriminately. However, he seemed to prefer fighting armed foes; he'd yet to actually harm any civilians… only police and soldiers.

He had an urge, an insatiable craving… to fight. To destroy… but not necessarily to kill. It would be more accurate to say… an irresistibly dark need to blow the crap out of as much stuff as possible.

He was running at high speed, knocking cars out his way with powerful swings of his forearms… the police were doing all they could, with the assistance of the army itself, but to no effect. Bullet wounds seemed to regenerate instantly and only make Smoke angrier.

A line of tanks thundered down the street while heavily armed S.W.A.T. soldiers helped civilians evacuate.

With a deafening explosion, the tanks fired their cannons simultaneously, wiping out the entire area of block where Smoke stood. He, however, crawled up from the remains a moment later laughing and twitching. Grabbing a fistful of lit dynamite, he hurled several sticks into one of the tanks cannons… a moment later, the armored assault vehicle blew apart from the inside.

Breaking into a run at the rest, he hurled several orbs of ball lightning, wiping more tanks out while the sergeants cried out hoarse orders to retreat. It was no good. By the time the tanks were in reverse, Smoke was upon them. He pounced onto one and ripped its entrance hatch off with his bare hands. Reaching down, he grabbed up one of the members of the tank crew and snapped his neck, tossing the body into the street.

He massacred the rest of the soldiers with his shotgun and blew up the rest of the tanks with his rifle.

A low-pitched hum from above announced the arrival of several jets. They swooped down and let loose several sidewinder missiles, blowing up a massive portion of the street. Smoke did several flips and sidesteps, dodging debris and taking the blast without so much as a flinch. His skin was torn and burnt, but he didn't seem to notice… in fact, the wounds seemed to be healing every moment.

Taking a massive leap, Smoke began climbing the side of a tall office building, bounding from gutter spout to flagpole to windowsill, until finally, he was on the roof. When the jets curved in midair and U-Turned towards Smoke, he was ready for them. He jumped.

Grabbing onto the wing of one of the jets, he climbed across the airborne vehicle and onto the cockpit. Cranking his saw in one hand and staring dementedly, he sawed his way through the windows and the last thing the pilot ever saw was a pair of hollow, angry eyes and a whirring chainsaw blade. The plane crashed to the ground, erupting into a wall of black steam and a sheet of flames.

Smoke had leapt off before it had crashed and landed on another rooftop, wiping bloodstains off his chainsaw. The jets came back again, preparing to launch more missiles. He whipped out his revolvers and opened rapid-fire bullets onto the jets. They were instantly punched full of holes, burning and screeching as they crashed to the building he was on. He leapt off just before the building crumbled…

Still, he was not unopposed. A group of Apache helicopters flew over his head, opening fire with Minigun turrets. He growled as he felt the bullets rip into him. Lifting a hand, his body lit up with golden-green light and several lightning bolts thundered down from the heavens, blowing the choppers to smithereens.

He laughed long and hard, but then, a moment later, fell to the ground and let out a loud wail of anguish, clutching his head and twitching.


"… Damn! This son of a bitch can't be invincible!" An army general snarled, banging his camo-gloved fist into the desktop in his large tent.

He was abruptly interrupted from his rant by a nervous corporal who stumbled in and saluted shakily. "… S-Sir! Visitors requesting an audience with you, sir!"

"Tell them to get the Hell out! Can't they see I've got my hands full already?"

"But S-Sir…"

"Are you questioning my orders, Corporal?"

"It's the Teen Titans, Sir!"

The general dropped the coffee mug he'd been taking a hearty gulp out of; it promptly shattered on the ground.

"… Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? Tell them to get in here!" Then, under his breath: "… It's about damn time…"

As the heroes in question filed into the tent, Robin spoke before the General could even open his mouth.

"General! You've got to stop this at once! We can't kill him!" He said. "And I mean that both ways: Physical and Moral."

"…What? Why the Hell not? He's destroying the city!"

"It's not his fault! He's under the influence of some kind of… chemical drug. He can't help it."

"Okay… but why can't we kill him?"

"Well, number one: you couldn't kill him if you tried; he's too strong. And number two… because he doesn't deserve it!"

For a moment, the hardened generals face seemed to go limp with pity, perhaps even understanding. "… I'm sorry. But there's no other way."

Blackfire and Zero shoved their way past Robin.

"There is a way! Please, sir…" Zero attempted to sound as polite as possible. "… If we can just get a chance to talk to him… to see him… I'm sure that we could snap him out of this, at least for a while."

Blackfire nodded. "This isn't what he's like, I swear! He would never do any of this if he had a choice!"

A sudden peal of gunfire prompted the group to look out the window.

Smoke had both revolvers out and was gunning down a long line of soldiers with dual streams of rapid-fire bullets. Everyone winced or looked away.

Raven took the opportunity to step up. "… Look. We know he's still in there somewhere, I can…" She looked for the best way to say it. "I can sense it. I can sense him trapped inside struggling for control."

The general looked despondently out of the small window… and his face suddenly lit up.

"Hang on a tick…" He scratched the stubble beard on his leathery chin. "… I think… I think I know how to solve both our problems. Robin, come here…"

Robin stepped over and the big military man whispered something in his ears. He cocked an eyebrow.

"… That… that's just… desperate enough to work." He looked over at his teammates. "Cy, Zero, Black… come here for a minute."

They walked over and he whispered something to them as well, the rest of the Titans craning their necks to hear.

Blackfire broke away looking horrified and outraged. "No! We can't do that… that's so… so… underhanded."

Cyborg sighed. "She's right, it's kind of low… but… it's the only way."

Sub-Zero looked at Blackfire. "… And you're just the person to be able to do it."

The dark-tressed Tamaranean looked out the window and bit her lip, sighing sadly. "… Okay. I… I'll do it. I won't like it, but… I'll do it…"


Smoke was in the middle of reloading and licking his lips rather sadistically. But just then, a voice came ringing to his ears that was… different. Different from the myriad of muffled and nonsensical babble he'd been hearing this whole time. It sounded… almost familiar.

"Smoke!"

He looked up dully, eyes empty and unseeing. He heard it a second time, this time from two voices.

"Smoke! Smoke!"

He… He… knew these voices… didn't he?

Suddenly, Smoke whipped his head sharply towards the source of the cries. There stood Robin, Cyborg, Blackfire, and Sub-Zero… the rest had stayed behind in case something went wrong.

"Smoke… stop this! Now!" Robin said in a tone that was part commanding, part pleading.

"C'mon, man! You can't let this stuff manipulate you any more!" Cyborg yelled, pumping his fists.

"Smoke… my friend… this is below you." Zero sighed loudly, shaking his head. "You can do so much better than this! So don't let it control you! Break free! Resist!"

Blackfire hovered off the ground slightly and gazed at Smoke sadly. "Please… Smoke… you have to stop. If not for yourself, then for us… for me." The 'me' she said was soft, barely audible. "… Smoke, I… I never really told you this but… I think I… love you."

Smoke, all throughout this had been getting more and more peaceful, a glimmer of comprehension dawning in his scarred young face. Finally, at the phrase 'love you', his eyes went wide and full once more. He stared at them, his gaze becoming rapidly more human.

"… Blackfire?" His voice was hoarse and breaking, weak and airy. "… Help… me…"

She floated forward and held out her left hand invitingly, placing her right hand over her heart. "Smoke… come here, please… take my hand."

Clumsily, but with a look of living recognition, he stumbled towards her… she struggled not to sob. Not just from seeing the person she cared so much for in such a pitiful state…

… But also when she saw the line of men with rifles approaching them behind Smoke's back.

Reaching out, he shakily took her hand and squeezed. She sniffed and took him in an embrace, stroking his short, spiky hair. She whispered into his ear: "Smoke… I'm sorry."

And the next thing he felt in her arms was a swarm of massive tranquilizer darts puncturing his back. He collapsed into her arms, completely out cold.


Cyborg sighed heavily as he looked at the small computer screen next to Smoke's cot in the Titan's Tower infirmary.

"I gotta give that Mytnull credit for one thing: He knows how to make 'em sturdy. Everything Smoke's body's been through… most people woulda been dead ten times by now."

Thankfully, the small pulse monitor still displayed the jagged line and the rhythmic beeps that indicated he was still with them.

"… Do you think that the chemical will lose its effects soon?" Starfire asked. "I… It gives me pain to see friend Smoke bound like this…"

Indeed, they had Smoke strapped to the cot just in case his other side arose again.

"I know, Star." Robin sighed. "But… it's for his own good."

"Most people would be under this stuff's effects for months… but with a fast metabolism like Smoke's, I'd say the stuff will wear off in… Oh, say… another hour or so. He's already been under its influence a while, and It shouldn't be long before it's outta his system…"

"Good." Jinx said. "… Smoke's a good guy. I hate seeing him like this…" She looked a bit ill as she said this.

Sub-Zero gripped her slender hand reassuringly. "Don't worry… Smoke's a tough hombre. He'll be fine."

"Dude, you sound so sure…" Beast Boy said, impressed. But then, his small pointed ears drooped sadly. "But… I just can't help but worry."

"I've had to go through not being able to control myself, but… still…" Terra said. "At least I was still lucid. Smoke… I can't imagine what he's going through."

Blackfire was sitting on a chair next to Smoke's cot, looking very forlorn. She still felt awful over having been the 'bait' in the general's plan… she'd meant every word she'd said to him, took him in her arms… but only to have him shot in the back.

They waited for about an hour and a half when suddenly, an alarm went off on Cyborg's computer. He walked over and checked it, eyes going wide.

"Guys! Look at this!"

They gathered around the small monitor. A bar graph was displayed with the title, 'Presence Of Unknown Chemical In Smoke's Body'. A small bar labeled, 'Unknown Chemical' was at forty three percent full… and rapidly dropping. Thirty… twenty… ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two… One…

"… Zero." Sub-Zero whispered (No pun intended.)

And then, Smoke awoke with a groan.

As his eyes flickered to life and slowly fluttered open, the corners twitched slightly. He looked around blearily, not quite comprehending where he was or why…

… And then, everything hit him like Muhammad Ali on steroids.

And immediately, he began struggling against his bonds, voicing his protest.

"NO! I can't be here! You have to kill me; hurry up! Before I change again, I can't keep control forever!"

Blackfire put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "No! You're free now…"

He stopped writhing around and stared. "… What?"

"That's stuff's out of your body now… you don't have to worry about changing again." Cyborg explained.

"… Out… gone? Permanently?"

"Yep. Permanently."

Robin spoke up. "Smoke… it's good to have you back." He said with a light grin. He walked over and began untying Smoke. The gunman sat up and stared around listlessly, his face sagging in a gloomy frown.

"… Apparently, you guys never got the message…"

Beast Boy blinked. "… Message?"

"The tape… I had just enough time to make a tape just before I changed last time…"

"We got it." Sub-Zero interrupted. "We heard you loud and clear."

"… And…?" Smoke seemed almost irritated, but with a look of profound grief creeping across his features.

Terra cocked an eyebrow questioningly. "… And what? What more is there to say?"

"You're saying you forgive me. Just like that." It was more of a statement than a question. "…"

"What's to forgive? Smoke, it's not like you wanted to do all those things… and as for working for Slade, well…" Raven paused. "You didn't know who you were working for, and you had good intentions… although I still have to say, it was extremely reckless of you… but no, we don't blame you for any of this."

"And besides… you aren't the only one." Robin said.

"I'm not the only one what?"

"Who's worked for Slade before."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"Friend Smoke… no matter what you believe, it fills me with great joy to see you reverted back to your former self." Starfire proclaimed, beaming.

The gunner stared blankly. "… Wha…?"

"She means she's glad to see you as your old, wisecracking, pyromaniac self." Blackfire explained with a grin. "… And… So am I."

"Oh. Right. I knew that." He said falteringly, shifting his eyes.

"Regardless, though…" Smoke continued. "I just… I don't even know if I can trust myself anymore. And I wish there was something I could to make things right again…"

Robin nodded. "You can."

"What?"

"Smoke… do you remember where Slade's hideout was?"

"Uh… well… he teleported me there at first, but… when I had to go back after stealing that chemical…" He closed his eyes in deep thought. "Yeah… yeah, I remember…"

"Do you think you could take us there?"

"… Yeah. Yeah, I could, now that you mention it."

A look of comprehension appeared in Smoke's facial expression. He smiled for the first time in a while.

"Guys…" He cranked his chainsaw. "How about… we go carve ourselves a couple bad pumpkins?"

The Titans couldn't have agreed more.

Smoke's free from the influence of the chemical, at last. And it's a good thing, too 'cause the final battle is fast approaching.

Next time: It's High Noon as the Smokester faces off with Myntull. Robin will get a chance to take care of Slade once and for all. And let's just say… Zero will get a rematch with a large, winged foe he hasn't seen in a while…

Read and Review! The story is almost over, so keep an eye out once I finish for my third fic in this series! It's gonna be big… heheheh.

Anyway, later y'all… (coughpleasereviewlotscough)

--Count Le Madphantom