Pairings: Implied RobxStar, BBxRae, BumblebeexCyborg, JinxKidFlash, definate AqualadxSpeedy
Warnings: Sexual situations, bad language, slash, violence, dark situations, threats of rape, implied character death
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst
Rating: R
Summary: The girls can take care of themselves.
A/N: It's finally over! The epilouge will be posted on Saturday. Until then...I am accepting your opinions. What do you think about the sequel? It will be written, but it may or may not be posted here. Keep in mind that it will be dark; darker then this one. As in, young children dieing. If you don't think that it should be on here, then I'll post it in LJ.
Dedicated to: All my readers. Hope you enjoy this.
Both rooms were filled with stunned silence. Shaking her head to clear the last of the wooziness, Bumblebee darted forward to stare through what she had believed to be a mirror. When she finally spoke, her tone was disbelieving. "...Raven?"
"Bumblebee?"
"GHOST!" Melvin's screech was more then enough to shatter the muffling shock, and Jinx began to laugh.
She was throughly ashamed of her reaction, but it was impossible to stop the giggles. In a last ditch attempt to get her hysteria under control she whipped to the side and slammed her broken arm against the chair. All of the other girls winced as a scream ripped from her throat, but it made the laughter stop. "R-raven? Is it actually you?"
"No. Beast Boy learned how to shift genders."
Bumblebee laughed without meaning too. "Raven! It is you!" The dark skinned girl darted forward and latched onto the sorceress's shoulder, smiling."They told us you died!"
"They told me you died!"
"They tricked us." A cold voice emenated from the corner of the room. "They wished to hurt us, and they succeeded."
Four heads whipped around at once. Raven's eyes met the eyes of her recently awakened teammate and she forced a smile, combating the depression she had felt since she had awoken in the room. "Starfire."
The smile she received was more geniune. "Raven! I am..." The tamaranean struggled with her english vocabulary, then smiled again as she remembered the word she was searching for. "Ecstactic to see you alive and well!"
Melvin pulled at her bonds, trying get a glimpse of the gothic girl. "Raven!" The volume of her voice did not raise, but the tone became more frantic. She had to see for herself, make sure it was real before she would allow herself to calm at all.
Sensing this, Bumblebee flew over and tugged at the young girl's bonds. "Dammit. If I had my stingers...Star, can you get her free?"
"No. I could not without hitting Jinx."
"Raven?"
"My powers aren't working."
"Shit."
Jinx scowled, then swallowed and steeled herself. "Raven, you have healing powers right?"
"Yes."
"Good. Bee, pick up some of the glass and cut my splint."
"...What the hell are you smoking?" Bumblebee spoke for all of them. The girls gaped at Jinx, attempting to understand when she had obtained her masochistic streak. "We have enough problems without letting your arm get worse!"
"It's broken down near my wrist." Her eyes were narrowed determinedly, the pink pupils barely visible.
"And...?"
"And if Raven can handle it, I'll use my powers to shatter the chair she's sitting in."
The sorcerress scowled. "And you need to hurt yourself to achieve this why?"
"Because." Her tone was grim, and she carefully avoided the other girl's eyes. "I can use my powers without it, but it works better if I can direct it."
Wincing, Bumblebee flew forward reluctantly and picked up a small peice of glass."Melvin, close your eyes. You don't need to see something like this." Still hesitating, she slowly approached the other girl. "This is the craziest thing I have ever done..." A deep breath, a quick slash forward, and the bandage of the splint was neatly cut. As the arm fell forward to slap against Jinx's leg, the Titan's East leader covered her ears just in time to block the scream.
"SON OF A...!" Jinx threw herself against the back of the chair, tears coarsing down her cheeks. The pain was intense, a spike of fire ripping up and down her arm, but she managed to raise the appendage. A pink glow began to shine through the tears, and with a swift movement and a yelp, the floor, the wall, and the chair Raven was tied to were ripped to shreds. Raven herself was flung against the wall were she lay for a few seconds, moaning.
Melvin cowered back against the bed that Kole lay on, eyes wide as she took in the scene. Starfire hung from the bonds around her wrists, green eyes bright with worry. Jinx, slumped in her chair with her broken arm laying limply in her lap. Raven, still curled up amidst rubble and shards of glass. Bumblebee who hovered next to Jinx's chair, hands still covering her ears as she stared at the pile of debris that had once been a wall.
With a small mutter, the sorceress staggered to her feet and stumbled towards the room where her friends were trapped. "Oww..." Her body ached, but it was worth it as she stepped from the round, sterile room that had been her prison for the past four days. She was instantly filled with an emotion that she sorely missed; anger. As she thought back, her despair disappeared and her hatred increased. "They kidnapped us, trapped us, and tortured us."
Bumblebee scowled. "Don't go postal yet. Some of us are still tied up or stuck as bugs!" Flying up in front of Raven's face, the girl flailed her arms and snarled, attempting to distract her until they were all free.
"Fine." Her eyes continued to glow and aura wrapped around their bonds, snapping them neatly.
Kole instantly changed back to normal and jumped to her feet, sweet face contorted in a glare. "They hurt Gnarrk!" This was an oddly random exclimation, but it was obvious that she had been wanting to say this for a while.
Starfire collapsed to her knees and hissed, rubbing at her aching wrists. "I am not at all happy!" She stood and crossed her arms, eyes beginning to glow a dangerously bright green.
"None of us are." Jinx stood up shakely and hugged her broken arm to chest. "Raven? A little help?"
Raven stepped forward and put her hands over the ex-villianess's arm. A deep cold sunk into her arm as the sorceress's hands were surrounded by blue light. "There. It won't stand up to wieght lifting, but it will get you home." Suddenly, something latched onto her legs, causing her to yelp.
Melvin had been staying back, but as she saw the girl begin to calm, she couldn't help it. With a small cry she leaped forward and clung to Raven, smiling even as tears streamed down her face. "Raven!"
The gothic girl stumbled backwards, then smiled and kneeled, pulling the girl into a tight hug. "They're going to pay for kidnapping you." With a grim scowl, she stood and turned to the door. "Ready to go?" As the others nodded she pulled one arm back, and then blinked.
Bumblebee returned to her normal size and frowned. "Lemme guess. Your powers don't work on it."
"How did you guess?" Raven's response was dry, and to the point. "What now?"
"Let me!" Kole stepped forward, her eyes flashing dangerously. "If I change into a crystal, you should be able to use my body to break the door."
They nodded, glad there was no need to argue about this. Kole shifted, and Starfire grabbed the other girl. One slam against the door and it creak irratably. Two, and it fell outwards into the hall.
They were free!
Neko yawned and streched, then leaped from her perch. It had been an hour exactly (and a long one at that; watching someone else play video games seemed to literally slow time), and she was eager to go 'talk' with her captives. "Wish me luck, Trickster!' She chirped, then skipped from the room.
He grunted, her comment no where close to registering in his brain. But that was okay; who cared what a girl said when there were ninja monkies to fight?
"Be quiet." Raven's soft hiss caught their attention, and she yanked Melvin behind her. "Someone's coming."
Bumblebee shrunked down and flew up to the ceiling, heading towards the humming. Down the corridor Neko was walking swiftly, claws tapping against the stone wall of the hallway. With a small scowl the girl flew back to her friends. One mouthed word, and Raven phased them into the wall.
Neko was on top of the world. She had almost finished what she had set out to do. All that was left was the last breaking of the captives, and then waiting for the boys to arrive. If they never managed to find her, well...she would just have to go looking for them. Public humiliation would be even better.
Suddenly, the lights clicked out, leaving her underground hide out pitch black. "What...?" Something slammed into her shoulder and she yelped, ducking as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Five, no, six figures. Three sets of glowing eyes; pink, green, and black. "H-how did you get out?"
Something collided with her spine, sending her flying. She let her attention roam from the non-glowing girls, and one had snuck up on her. "Let's just call it luck to save time."
"No! This wasn't supposed to happen!" Letting one hand slash out, she laughed as it snagged on skin. The cry of the young girl, apparently the one cut, followed her as she ran down the hallway. All she had to do was get Nightmare, and it would be on her side again. There was nothing to worry about; she was Neko, for gods sake. Stronger then anyone in this building.
She shivered as the tempurature dropped suddenly. Then, much to her suprise, she was running back into the circle of heroes. The demon girl had grabbed her, of course. A yowl of rage, and she kicked out, hoping to cut someone, hoping to hit the four eyed bitch so that she could make a run for it.
"You hurt my friends." The hands on her shoulder were anything but gentle; the girl speaking to her seemed to have iron bars for bones. Another yelp, this one of pain, and she felt herself being dragged up off the ground.
"I killed one of your little friends!"
A soft snort came from her right, and she whipped her head around to stare at the demon. "Don't brag. You hit Starfire, and the Tamaranean body can handle worse things then a little cut."
Neko stare around at the girls, then begin to cackle. They didn't know. They might escape, but one of their number would die anyways. She would win.
Disgusted, Starfire flung her against the wall. A soft 'crack!' and the catgirl was still, her laughter still echoing in the hall.
Nightmare and Trickster sat side by side on the couch, enjoying the freedom that came when Neko wasn't around. They both leaned forward, intent on the video game playing in front of them, and didn't even notice as the door slid open.
One by one, six silent forms filed into the room, faces set and grim.
It was Raven who broke the silence, Raven who stepped forward to land the first blow. "Hello boys. Remember us?"
"Are you sure that's all the rope they have?"
"For the last time, yes."
Raven and Bumblebee secured the three villians, fighting gently as they did so. Neither could actually snap at the other because of simple relief that they were still alive, but they could pretend. Neko, Trickster, and Nightmare sat secured in a little triangle. Arms and wrists were tightly bound with seperate peices of rope, and they recieved a punch to the skull every few minutes to 'keep them asleep'.
Jinx and Kole were keeping watch to make sure no other guards were around. They doubted that there were, but it was best to make sure. Melvin sat on the couch with Starfire, putting a bandage on the Tamaranean's cut. As she finished up, Jinx turned to the others. "Movement on the first floor. Guess you were right, Bee."
"Trap set."
"We've got 'em!"
"Move in. Remember; surround them."
"They're...crying...?"
"Wait! Don't attack!"
"Holy shit!"
"Raven, cut the net loose!"
The net and it's many captives fell to the ground with an audiable 'oomph!'. The girls rushed forward, not really trusting their eyes. Spread out on the ground was the boys!
Bobby stood slowly, hugging to young boys to his chest, and gave a cry of delight as he saw Melvin rushing towards him. The others climbed to their feet and gaped at their female counterparts. Robin staggered, took a few steps towards them, then swept Starfire and Raven into a tight hug. "You're alive!"
The others rushed to their loved ones, laughing and exchanging hugs. Beast Boy tripped multiple times as he ran through the crowd, trying to tackle them all at once. The hallway was no where near as dark now; between the glow of multiple powers and the joy they felt at being back together, it was as if a shaft of sunlight was hitting them.
It wasn't until the festivites died down a bit that Cyborg noticed the cut on Starfire's cheek. They all had worse injuries, but that one cut had caught his attention. Maybe it was just the lighting, but the skin looked inflamed. "Woah! Star, what happened?"
"Neko cut me." She rubbed at the bandage, wincing slightly as she did so. It was starting to hurt a bit more, but she had been ignoring it.
The color dropped from the boy's faces. Raven frowned and hugged Timmy and Teether closer as she saw their expressions. "What?"
"Did she hit you with her claws?"
"Yes..." The Tamaranean's voice was hesitant, and Robin interrupted before she could say anything else.
"Raven! Heal her!"
"What?"
Wally grabbed her arm and began to drag her towards Starfire. "Just do it!"
The girls exchanged nervous glances, but Raven did as she was told. The swelling went down and Starfire smiled. "Thank you, Robin. But I have not needed to be healed for such small injuries before."
"Neko puts poison on her claws. You're lucky to still be alive." Aqualad's voice was grim, and as the words sunk in Starfire paled slightly.
Bumblebee scowled and crossed her arms. "Goddamn bitch!"
"Um...hey. Speaking of that, where are they? And...how did you guys get free?"
Kole gestured. "Two floors below us."
"And our harrowing tale is a long one." Jinx stretched and sighed. "Let's call the cops so that we can go to the Tower. I want out of this place."
"Yeah. I'm glad you guys are alive. We were so worried that we wouldn't get here in time..."
"Beast Boy." The girls turned to him, smiling grimly. "If we've told you once, we've told you a million times. We don't need you to save us. Now let's go home."
"Hey, you should be nicer. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have known about that poison."
Bumblebee smirked at Speedy. "We would have figured it out. Besides, Star's strong as hell. I doubt it would have killed her."
"Yes. I am amazed it affected me at all." Leaving the boys to clean up, they headed towards the exit, desperate to taste fresh air and be free. Neko was one fucked up psycho-path, but she had helped them teach the boys one thing; they could take care of themselves.