a.n. Ha! I just noticed... the 19th on the 19th! XD;; I couldn't have planned that even if I had tried. ...does that make sense?

TGrahlv- ...wow, you could fit that whole thing into the name slot? o.O; hehe, anyway, thanks for the review. Tell Slade I appreciate it. :) LoL. faLLen-dreamz- So... 2 want Raven to stay good, 2 want her to turn evil... (hem... still not keeping score or anything...) Oh, but I wanted Speedy to leave 'cause I want Raven to stay away from the Titans. :( But strangely, even in my stories I sometimes don't get what I want. Go figure. Glad you're so into the story, though. :D Lai-Ku- Seriously, is your name Chinese or something? Anyway, of course it's taking X awhile... I mean, Aqualad had to swim all the way from Cali (I think the tower is off the coast of California...) ALL the way to Monaco. On the other side of the world. Give the guy some credit that he could swim that far so fast. LoL. P.S. No. P.P.S. Right now, I'm looking at chap. 25... but considering me, who can almost never finish a story, it may be more. There may also be epilogues and alternative endings. X33;; The possibilities are endless! P.P.P.S. I am! Read, read:D Kendra Chetnova- Thanks for the info. Eh, if anything Aqualad would hitch a ride on a shark or dolphin or whatever big thing actually swims in that sea. Me! ...heh, j/k. I'm not the greatest swimmer, anyway... Thanks for the review. Are all your voices happy with the story, too:) Tritium- Why can't we have an early Christmas, goshdarnit? And a late one in January, too! I'm up for more presents. X3; Hehe, X's group is trying...but it's not like they have the best leader. LoL. And it won't be extra titans v. Raven... it'll be Raven v. every other single person on the battlefield. :3 lolopixie- Thanks for the review. Not only are the robots more powerful, they're prettier, too. XD; Hope you like this chapter as well. VampireSelene- Thank you so much. :D Hopefully I can continue that trend, LoL. psycicflower- Wow, that's weird. And completely suck-ish. :( Well, at least you'll have two chapters to read at once... if that's a good thing. LoL.

Chapter 19

"Aren't they ready yet?" cried Gizmo, waving his hands over his head. He was standing on the table to be eye-level with Jinx.

"Aren't you going to stop asking that?" the girl replied coldly. The three Hive members had met together privately in what Gizmo deemed an "emergency meeting."

"Time's getting short, fluff girl. Slade's been hiding in that stupid tower for Mog knows how long- and that's not a good sign. Believe me. That mongoose is up to something," the little inventor said dramatically with a foreboding look at both his teammates.

"I guess you've finally run out of names to call people," smirked Jinx.

"He's right. Slade's probably up to something. It might be better for us if we knew what that was before charging into battle," argued Mammoth, shrugging with his arms folded across his chest. The girl leaned on her hand on the table, critically inspecting both the guys.

"Fine," she said at length. "Have a plan?"

Gizmo's face broke into a hideous grin, causing his features to look even scarier than normal. "Send someone to draw out Slade's idiot forces. If he doesn't come out with no new weapons, we probably won't have anything to worry about from that geezer."

Jinx looked unconvinced. "Who do we send?"

"Cinderblock, Plasmus," shrugged the boy, "either of those mindless oafs should do it." The pink haired girl looked to Mammoth, who nodded in agreement.

"Okay," sighed Jinx in a defeated sort of way, "what do we tell whoever's being sent?"

"That they're going into town to draw out Slade's idiot army," Gizmo replied in a mocking manner, as if he were explaining something to a child. "Jeez- that's why I said pick one of the mindless ones. They'll slappin' do whatever you say."

-

Raven fastened her cape with her brooch as she entered the living room. A couple of upgraded robots were fiddling with the computer, but other than that the room was empty. The dark girl walked over to the large screen.

"Leave," she commanded the soldiers. Even though they weren't hers, they stopped typing immediately and slouched out of the room.

Raven quickly glanced around the room. Her fingers flew across the keys as she brought up Titans Allies files. Just as she began to read about Speedy, alarms rang throughout the tower. Quickly the girl cleared the screen of all documents and allowed the familiar map to pop up, along with the inset picture and locating dot.

"Cinderblock?" she asked herself, a bewildered expression plastered on her face. Her attention was caught by the side doors opening, admitting Slade and a couple of upgraded guards.

"What is it?" questioned the man as he neared her.
Raven motioned to the screen and the incoming footage of Cinderblock stomping down a busy street, scattering cars and people. "It's... weird," was all the girl said. After a short pause, she asked, "So, how many soldiers do you think it'll take?"

"None," Slade replied, looking down at her. "You're going."

"Me?" Her surprise was not only evident in her tone but also on her face.

"Yes. Hurry, you don't want him to destroy anything else, do you?" The dark girl eyed him suspiciously, but then ran out of the room.

Slade's gaze returned to the screen. "What are you up to, Cinderblock?" the man said quietly, his eye narrowing. "Who's pulling your strings?" On a sudden hunch, he looked up the records of the recent jail breakouts and traced all the escapees' paths. As he had guessed, they all ended in one spot outside of town. Also not surprising, that was exactly where Cinderblock had come from.

"Well," Slade mumbled to himself, "something's certainly afoot."

-

"Hey, check this out," called Hotspot, looking at one of the wall monitors. He had been recently kicked out of the fight that ensued when Speedy returned unsuccessful. Since then he had just watched on the sidelines as X and Speedy snapped at each other.

"There's reports of some major wrecking going on downtown," Hotspot related from the screen. He looked back and let a sigh of relief escape upon seeing the guys had stopped squabbling. X darted over to the corner monitor and began typing in codes. Through the Titans computer, he could see the video stream.

"Cinderblock," the thief said, reading a small profile next to the inset picture. Looking back to the video footage, X suddenly shouted, "And Raven?" The other two boys crowded around him.

"Helping him?" Hotspot cried in disbelief, hovering over the thief's shoulder. X shook his head.

"No, confronting him. With Slade holding her leash, I never expected her to be... acting like a Titan."

"So what do we do? We should help her," Speedy said, breaking away from the group and picking up his bow.

X's head jerked around to face the archer and he snapped, "No! Don't!"

"You're not serious. If we help Raven, she might see that she can trust us-"

"No. We could also get her in trouble with Slade, and for that she might never trust any of us," X argued. When Speedy didn't reply, the thief returned to watching the monitor.

Suddenly the screen next to it flashed on with a picture of Aqualad. This time, the shore could be seen in the background. "Hey guys, good news. I found the ship!" Instantly the two boys slid from in front of the Titans monitor to Aqualad's.

"You did? Blackfire's ship? You're sure?" X demanded quickly, almost excitedly.

"Yeah..." said Aqualad, slowly and sarcastically. "How many ships that can handle deep-space flight would there be hiding in the sea?"

Hotspot chuckled. "Can you get in? Is Blackfire around?"

"I don't know where she is, but I'm definitely picking up the Titans' communicator signals from inside." A long pause followed.

"Okay, how about this," X spoke up at last, his tone ringing with the utmost seriousness. It made the other two stop and listen with grave expressions. "I'll go through the logs where Blackfire contacted the Titans, get her ship code and call her. If she doesn't respond, you'll be bale to go in." Just because of the gravity with which X explained it, it made the other boys think it was a good, well thought out plan.

"And what if she's there?" Hotspot asked, tilting his head as he looked to the thief.

"I'll... I'll think of something."

"Okay. I'll wait for you to call me back. I'm going to search for a way to get into the ship," said Aqualad. The screen returned to black and the boys' attention shifted back to the corner monitor.

"What do you think of all of this, Speedy?" Hotspot called over his shoulder. His gaze was fixed on the Titans screen, but when he never got a reply, he turned and gave the room a quick search. "Speedy?" At that, X looked, too.

"He didn't..." Quickly he brought up a window which tracked nearby Titans communicators. It showed one dot moving quickly toward Cinderblock.

"He did," sighed the fiery boy, rubbing the back of his neck. "Should I try to bring him back?"

"No," growled X with an irritated pound of his fist to the keyboard panel. "Right now, our biggest priority is Blackfire."

-

The three Hivelings stood atop their home warehouse, watching the city through Gizmo's newly in vented, incredibly powerful telescope. With it, they could see Cinderblock as clearly as if they were standing right next to him.

"No sign of Slade or his minions," reported Jinx smugly. However, a scowl soon grew on her features. "But Raven's there. Please. Does she really think she can take him on her own?"

"Y'mean she's got no cruddy back up?" whined Gizmo. "C'mon! I want to know what that idiot's been up to!"

Mammoth looked through the telescope after Jinx. "Maybe," he said, straightening, "she's what he's been up to."

Gizmo gave a guttural scoff as he folded his arms across his chest. "Raven? No way. He wouldn't waste his slappin' time."

-

Raven hovered at eye level with Cinderblock, a block away from him. Her brow was knitted in confusion as she observed him; he was just standing there- as he had been since the moment she had appeared. Cautiously, the dark girl looked around, expecting some kind of an accomplice to attack her. ...Was this it?

"Get rid of him," Slade's voice hissed through the little communicator in her ear. The dark girl flew forward a couple of feet.

"Leave, Cinderblock!" ordered Raven forcefully, pointing back the way he had come.

"Hardly what I meant," came the impatient reply in her ear.

Cinderblock looked around the area, as if also expecting something more than Raven. When he realized she was it, he gave a challenging growl before lunging at her, the ground shaking with each step. As he neared the girl, he reached out to grab her, but she ducked under his massive hand.

Flying behind him, Raven picked up a smashed car with her powers and slammed it into Cinderblock's back. It appeared more damage had been done to the car. More pieces fell from it and it had been bent in the shape of the rock giant's back. The dark girl dropped the vehicle.

"Stop playing with him," Slade ordered.

Cinderblock turned to face the girl, eyes narrowed. One of his hands shot out again, and when Raven dodged, his other hand came out of nowhere and caught her cape. Without giving the dark girl time to react, Cinderblock swung her around and knocked her into a nearby building.

Raven struggled in vain to wrench her cape from his grasp. When she gave up, she noticed she was hurtling toward the building wall again. Quickly, weakly, she encased herself in shadow. The force was too much for her to handle, though, and the barrier dissipated upon impact, leaving a bubble-shaped dent in the side of the building.

"What are you doing? Fight!" the order rang in her ear.

Finally Raven found the brooch and unclasped her cape. She dropped to the ground and limped out of Cinderblock's way as swiftly as she could. Hiding in the shadow of a nearby building, she caught her breath.

"When this happened before," she said quietly, touching the communicator, "someone would be there to distract the guy. I've got no one now."

"This is why I told you you needed to learn to fend for yourself. Now get out there and get rid of him!"

Raven flinched at his outburst. This was the side of Slade she had been expecting for a long time; his true side.

A growl from Cinderblock brought the dark girl's thoughts back to reality. He had seen her and was now marching straight for her. Hands enveloped in darkness, Raven flew up and began circling the stone monolith, pelting him with shadow rays. Her reflexes weren't up to par for she was still slightly dazed from the earlier bashing. So by the time she saw Cinderblock's fist shooting her way, she couldn't do anything to stop it or flee. It hit her and sent her ramming into the wall of the nearest building. The dark girl dropped to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Cinderblock stomped forward. Just as he raised a massive foot to come down on her body, three projectiles hit his side, exploding on impact, and knocking him off balance. He staggered to the side, narrowly missing Raven. He looked over to see a boy run over to the dark girl and shake her.

Raven's eyes opened to the sight of Speedy bending over her. He looked apprehensively from the enemy back to the girl. "Hey, you okay?"

Slowly, carefully, Raven stood up with the help of the archer. A grimace of pain flinched across her face. "I've been better. What are you doing here?" Speedy whipped three more arrows out and aimed them at the advancing Cinderblock.

"Oh, y'know, I was in the neighborhood and all. Thought you needed a hand." He pulled back on the string. The ground shook even more as the enemy, almost jogging now, neared.

"What's going on?" Slade shouted, his tone bordering hysterical. "You are supposed to get rid of him! Have all those lessons been for nothing?"

Raven's eyes grew white, her face no longer betraying pain. Instead, her features were firmly set with determination. She laid a hand on Speedy's shoulder breaking his concentration.

"He's mine." With that, Raven took a second to summon her powers, then jumped into the air, lunging for Cinderblock. The sound of pavement cracking filled the air. Speedy whirled around to see the two nearest street lamps being wrenched right out of the ground, covered in blackness. Their curved necks straightened and they took on the appearance of javelins. Turning on their sides, they bolted after Raven.

The dark girl flew right toward Cinderblock, feeling all her energy and power flow through her to her fist. Right when she reached the stone enemy, she punched him in the jaw as forcefully as she could. That alone knocked him off balance. The strong shadow beam that shot out of her hand afterward knocked him a couple of yards back. The two street lights that drove into his chest moments later slid him down the street, knocking up pavement and other debris. After the smoke had finally cleared, Cinderblock was found motionless in the middle of the road.

Raven smiled to herself. At last no more orders were being jammed into her ear. Even Speedy was surprised, as apparent by his slack jaw.

-

The three Hivelings were all crowded around the telescope, trying to peer through the lens simultaneously.

"What?" squawked Gizmo, reeling back. His teammates took the opportunity of his absence at the telescope to crowd closer together.

"Since when can a cruddy Titan K.O. an idiot like Cinderblock single-stinkin'-handedly?" squealed the little inventor.

"She had help," Jinx corrected quickly. "One of the Titan's friends... ooh, he's cute."

"But she's the one who beat up our guy," said Mammoth, pushing Jinx out of the way so he could get a better look.

"I don't like this," snapped Gizmo. His expression was impish again. "I say we attack tomorrow. Let's not give that crud-munching idiot any more time to slappin' prepare anything."

Jinx wrenched the telescope lens away from Mammoth and stared into it. "I dunno... it seems Slade's already prepared."

"So the sooner we attack, the better!" Gizmo exclaimed, a rabid glint in his eyes. "Tomorrow! Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow!" He jumped up and stomped the ground with both feet on each word.

"Fine, fine!" replied Jinx in the same, loud voice. "We'll get the goonies rounded up and attack the tower tomorrow." Gizmo gave an excited, victorious shout, then darted away, no doubt to get things ready.

Jinx looked through the telescope again, mumbling something about a "cute guy," but gave a disappointed whine when she saw no one there.

-

X typed in Blackfire's number. Finally, after sifting through conversations and logs, he and Hotspot had found how to contact her ship. Both boys leaned over the monitor, holding their breath, until X pushed the fiery boy out of view.

"We can't both be seen! She might recognize you, anyway," snapped the thief. He turned back to the screen just as Blackfire appeared.

Her expression was quizzical as she looked at him. "Who are you?"

"A messenger," X said simply.

"Say it's a wrong number!" Hotspot whispered. "Hang up!" The thief just waved his hand swiftly for the boy to shut up.

"And who exactly sent me a message?" questioned Blackfire carefully.

"Slade. He wants you to come back to the tower."

--
Next Update: Dec. 26th. Let the holiday sales begin. :3 LoL, I'm the farthest thing from a shopper you shall ever find. I reaaaallly loathe shopping. If it's not for necessity, I'm dragging my feet all the way.

I heart Gizmo. X3;

Question- which plot line do you like the most, Raven's, X's, or the Hive's? Just curious.