I walked towards the door quickly, wanting to get out of the bank as quickly as possible. It wasn't the bank that made me wary, but the people. I never was one to particular like people, perhaps it was my upbringing. Either way, I tried to have as little human interaction as possible. I find it makes things a lot easier.

I reached for the glass door, slowly pushing it open as I heard a familiar rumble behind me.

A deep thunder shook from behind; an explosion rocked the earth, fire billowing towards me. Distorted faces, smoke, running people, panicking people. People dying, arms outstretched, flames washing over their bodies, the flesh ripped from their bones as their bodies were charred beyond recondition.

I was jerked back to the present as my body automatically dropped to the ground, hands covering my head and neck as I scrunched myself into a ball. I tried to yell out, but it was too late. A burst of flames, a cloud of smoke, and a crack of an explosion as people, desks, and building materials went flying in all directions. My eyes opened wide with horror as the flames raced outwards, as if in slow motion. I shuffled across the ground to a desk that had been overturned in the tumult. I cowered behind it as the flames washed over the area that I had just occupied. The desk in front of me was reduced to dust and ash as the flames finally met flesh.

I screamed out in pain as I felt the familiar ridges breaking through my skin along my spine, and the spikes protruding from the bone right below the elbow. As the flames finally slowed, I hopped to my feet, surveying the damage. The clothes had been ripped from my body, leaving my suit exposed. It had absorbed the brunt of the attack, but I could feel the burns on my hands and neck where the suit did not cover. I looked around through hazy smoke filled air.

About to assist the injured people that lay strewn about, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. A lone figure, shrouded in black exited the vault that had been blown open, carrying two large bags. I didn't even have to think about what was in them, it was obvious at that point.

I shook my head. I had come to this city to escape the whole hero thing. I just wanted to be left alone. Apparently trouble hadn't taken its time in catching up to me. I rose to my feet from where I was crouched, and slowly snuck over to where the robber was casually striding towards the exit.

I eyed the automatic weapon hanging from his belt, and then at the crying and screaming figures lying all around. I knew that no matter what was personally was best for me; I had to do what was best for these people. Such thoughts came to me immediately, putting the well being of others before myself had been drilled into my head since the beginning of my training six long years ago.

I pushed off of the pillar I had been hiding behind, entered hyper-mode, and raced up behind the villain. Before he knew what was happening, I had driven the backside of my spike into his back. I had been taught to use the flat side when I meant to disable, not kill. The sharp points of my spikes were more than enough to kill an enemy. They were strong enough to go through half and inch of steel. He went spinning across the room, both bags of money flying in opposite directions. I walked over towards him, stepping over rubble in the process.

He rose to his feet with a start, rubbing his head as he pulled the weapon from his belt. He looked around the room, racing over to the nearest person, and dragging them to his feet.

"You come any closer, and I will kill this woman."

I shook my head in humor as I closed my eyes for a moment, gathering the energy I needed for another burst of speed I needed as I raced up behind him, grabbed the woman, and safely deposited her on the other side of the room, leaving the villain looking at me in amazement. I had a fairly good suspicion that he hadn't expected anyone quite like me.

I walked towards him once again. He backed up, tripping over a discarded chair as he fell backwards. He looked at me with wide eyes, and then over at two people huddled on the ground, shaking and crying. He turned his weapon in their direction. At that point he knew he wasn't going to get a shot off at me, but they were a different story. He flipped the safety on his weapon as he took aim. My eyes opened wide with horror as he pulled the trigger.

I knew I didn't have time to get the two women out of the way, so I did the only thing I could at the time. I entered hyper-mode, diving in front of them as the bullets ricocheted past my body. I felt the searing heat as they barely missed my flesh. I winced as one grazed my chest. I felt the sticky blood begin to trickle from the long graze mark. My attention was distracted as a wildfire of pain erupted in my shoulder. Looking down, I saw where a bullet had ripped through my suit and was now lodged into my shoulder.

Definitely still there, I could feel it lodged in my muscles. I looked first at the smirking villain, and then back at the two people behind me. "G-Get out of here!" I managed to stutter as I picked myself up, pushing the pain to the back of my mind.

Before I knew what I was doing, I was on my feet, racing towards the robber at full speed. I had to stop myself from driving the sharp tips of my spikes through his body. Automatic reactions that had been programmed into my making had to be discouraged as I turned the spike at the last moment, again hitting him with the blunt side of my two weapons. This time, my full strength behind the blows he went flying backwards, knocking a good chunk out of the cement pillar his body struck.

I watched with satisfaction as he slumped to the ground, moaning, and then motionless. I didn't need to go over to check if he was unconscious. That was a given at this point. I took a moment to glance down at my injuries. My shoulder throbbed, my suit had failed to fix the tear, and fresh blood flowed freely through the hole and down the side of my uniform. I then looked down at the gash in my side that was a little better, but still hurt like hell. Fingering the wound in my shoulder, it came away soaked in red.

I ignored the pain, there were more important things to worry about, such as the other people scattered around me. I walked over to the two women that I had dived in front of first. They cowered before me as I looked down at them with tired eyes. Why for once couldn't I have worried about my self first? I shrugged as I lowered my good hand down to help them one of them up. They looked at it with wide eyes; it was still coated with blood. Rolling my eyes I wiped it off on my uniform as I lowered it once again. This time the younger of the two, probably in her twenties took it willingly.

I dragged her to her feet and then motioned for her to go towards the door. Looking down at the second lady, I knew there was no way she was going to be able to stand. Her ankle was angled in the wrong direction. I crouched before her, gently scooping her up and rising to my feet. She looked up at me with wide eyes as the blood from my injuries flowed onto her clothes. There wasn't much that I could do about that. I stepped over rubble and scattered remains of what once had been the bank. I quickly carried her over through the now broken doors, and dumped her into the arms of the nearest firefighter, before turning around and heading back in. I picked up two children, one over each shoulder, both unconscious, and delivered them too to the waiting authorities.

As I headed in for a third trip, someone gripped my shoulder from behind. It was a firefighter. I winced as he tightened his grip, forcing me to turn around and face him.

"You're injured."

"Yeah, so are a lot of other people. We can do this one of two ways. You can let me do my work, and I can leave you to yours, or you can try to stop me and face a mess of trouble. Now if you don't mind, there are a lot of people still in need of assistance."

I broke away from his grip as I stumbled back into the building, by now the blood loss was catching up to me. I had no doubt that the ridges protruding from my back as well as the spikes sticking out of my arms were gaining a lot of attention. I didn't care. There were people to help, at the time that was all that mattered.

I looked forwards, nodding as I let a small smile crease my face as I saw the criminal being carted away by the police. It quickly disappeared as I turned my attention back to the task at hand.

The familiar blank glare came over my face as I headed over to a man strewn across the floor. He was pinned beneath a desk, moaning in pain as he made futile efforts to struggle loose. I made my way over to him, gripping the desk by the side, using most of my remaining strength I managed to pull the desk off of him and roll it in the opposite direction where it lay motionless. I looked down at his body. I knew that he too wasn't going to be able to walk. I picked him up in my arms, my blood mixing with his as we headed towards the door.

He looked up at me. "T-Thank You." I met his gaze, not breaking stride. I stared at him for a moment before looking forwards once again stumbling towards the door, dragging my worn body with me. The day's adventures were finally catching up with me. I was walking the line of exhaustion. The body could only take so much abuse.

I passed through the gaping hole in the front of the building as I walked him over to the waiting paramedics. Turning around, I headed back into the building, entering what looked like a war zone.

It was apparent that many had not made it; charred remains littered the floor, mixing in with the ruins of the bank interior. I heard a crash behind me. No longer caring, I turned around to face a set of five individuals looking at me. I warily glared at them with half open eyes.

"Titans, GO!"

They raced forwards, some flying, some walking; I didn't take the time to notice, which were doing which. I stumbled over to the nearest person that looked injured. It was yet another child. My eyes burned with disgust as I looked down at the unconscious child. A bloody stump was all that remained of what was once a functional arm. I scooped the child up in my arms as I headed back towards the entrance.

My progress was halted as a figure stepped into my path. I silently groaned, this was really the last thing I had time for. He looked down at my arms. "Nice spikes. I'm Robin, leader of the Teen Titans. Thanks for your help. We were told that you were the one who stopped the thief. I don't know how we can thank you."

I let my half open eyes size him up. Yep, definitely didn't care about this right now. There were more important things to be doing. My head rocked back and forth as I looked back at him, nodding back exhaustion. I stepped around him, brushing his shoulder as I headed towards the door once again. I had lost count of the trips that I had made, eventually they all blurred into one until it had become a continuous process. I limped out of the bank, my limbs feeling as if they were made of lead, getting heavier with each step. I shook my head, trying to rid my mind of dizziness as I dropped the sleeping child off at an ambulance.

Without even having to think I turned around, heading back towards the building, my eyes scanning for anyone who may need help. As I entered the building, I caught the attention of five young adults as they grouped around me, the one directly in front of me stepping forward. It was the same one who had tried to stop me last time. What was his name? Rick? Rover? No. It was Robin or something like that. I didn't even take the time to stop as I simply tried to step around me. He was quicker this time, moving in front of me again.

"You're hurt. Let us help you. It's the least we could do."

I shook my head, trying to get by him once again. But, he wasn't to be thwarted. He moved in front of me again. I had finally lost my patience. I reached out, picked him up by the shoulders, my shoulder and body protesting with every movement as they rippled with pain. Moving him out of the way, I continued towards the ruins.

A wave of dizziness overtook me as I stumbled forwards, barely able to balance myself at the last moment. Robin or whoever he was immediately was by my side, supporting my weight. One of his companions raced over, I took the time to notice that he was half robot. He reached his hand out, running a scanner over my upper body. I eyed him, eyed Robin, and then pushed them both away, as I rolled over and tried to rise, my frail legs giving out as I did so. Someone caught me, lowering me to the ground as the guy who was half robot once again began to run his scanner over me. I tried to prop myself up as I felt a hand push me back down. I looked down.

"Stay still, we'll take care of everything. Just relax. Everyone has been cleared out, you're the last one."

I looked up at the ring of concerned faces above me, then down at my bleeding wounds. I had finally crossed the border into exhaustion. Having driven my body too far this time, it finally betrayed me as my eyelids slowly began to close, darkness rimming the edge of my vision.

I was aware of fuzzy faces and far away voices as I drifted away. "Oh man, this doesn't look good, we need to get him back to the tower! Raven, can you get him back to the infirmary? We'll meet you there…."

The rest was a blur. I felt my body being lifted from the ground, resting on a gentle blanket of black energy as I was hoisted into the air and carried towards the parking lot. My body finally gave in as my eyes closed completely, my limbs going slack as I passed into oblivion.

My eyelids slowly fluttered open as I blinked a few times, clearing my vision as I glanced at my surroundings. I was laying on a bed beneath a white sheet, various wires and sensors placed on my chest and neck. Sitting up, I pulled the sheets back, looking down at my shoulder and side. The shoulder was heavily bandaged as well as the chest. With my heightened sense of touch, both made me very uncomfortable. I silently cursed the scientists who had done all of this too me as I looked around the room for my suit.

Eying it on the far side of the room draped over a chair, I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed. I grabbed the wires in my good hand, pulling them off in one motion as beeping sounds pierced my sensitive ears. I pulled at the bandages revealing sutures on both wounds. I really was beginning to get annoyed. I hopped off the bed, balancing myself slowly as I headed over to get my suit.

Quickly slipping into it, I pressed the button on my wrist. I heard the hiss of air being pumped into the uniform. This suit had been specially designed to accommodate my sensitive sense of touch. By keeping a thin layer of air between my skin and the uniform, it made me a lot more comfortable. I ran my good arm over my back, the spikes that ran two rows down my back had retracted, leaving only the bony knobs that remained. I glanced down at my arms; the spikes were still there. Whoever these people were, they didn't know much about them. I grabbed my pack off of the chair. Opening it up, I grabbed my kit that contained a small handsaw and a file. Thinking about my current situation, rather than sawing them off as I usually did when I was done with a job, I decided it was best to keep them for the time being. Cutting them off and filing the stub down took a good half an hour, time I just didn't have. I put the black kit back into my bag, grabbing the black sheaths as I buckled them over my spikes.

These enabled me to still use my spikes in defense if necessary, but stopped me from injuring someone badly or even killing them. By covering the end of my pointed spikes, they allowed me to worry about other things. I wouldn't have to think about impaling someone. Even if I struck someone with the tip of a spike, it wouldn't penetrate; just leave a really nasty bruise.

I zipped up my backpack, slinging it over my shoulders and buckling it across my chest, wincing as the strap tightened around my injured shoulder. I walked over to the door, it was obviously automatic. It didn't open when I approached it. I tried two more times to no avail. The door wouldn't budge I had been locked in. Unsheathing both of my spikes, I drove them through the door repeatedly until there was an odd shaped circle of puncture holes in the door. Raising a leg into the air, I drove a foot against the door, the circular piece of metal flying backwards against the opposite wall. I quickly climbed through as more alarms blared in my ears and throughout the complex. I winced as the sound blasted through my ears and skull. I resheathed my spikes as I continued down the hallway, covering my ears with my hands as I stumbled forwards.

My luck finally gave out as I spotted a black clad figure behind me. Robin was racing towards me. I really didn't want a confrontation right then. I stumbled forwards as fast as could, with him hot on my trail. As I glanced back I took notice of the fact that another person had joined the pursuit, the half robot guy that had been with him at the bank. I eyed the open elevator in front of me, as well as the red headed girl that was casually striding out of it, she obviously hadn't heard the commotion. I raced past her, pushing her out of the elevator as I pressed the first button that came to view.

I focused my gaze on her as she spun around, mouth agape. As the doors slid shut, I raised my eyebrows and waved, letting a smile crease my face. That grin was immediately wiped from my face as I noticed the elevator was going up. Not good, I wanted to go down towards the base level. It would make my escape a lot easier. I pressed the button for the first floor, but the elevator continued its ascent. I looked at which button I had pushed, of course the top floor. I should not have been surprised based on my luck. I never had been one to get the easy way out of anything. As the elevator began to slow, I unsheathed my spikes; it always was nice to be prepared. I definitely wanted to be prepared for whatever I would find on the other side of that door. I dropped into a combat stance as the elevator pulled to a halt, and the doors slowly opened.

The sight beyond thoroughly confused me. There were two people in the room. A blue clad woman who sat Indian style, facing the window, levitating. There was also a green guy who I could only describe as looking like an elf. He had pointed ears, green hair, and a black and purple outfit. The green guy turned around from the TV, where he had paused whatever game he had been playing. He glanced casually back towards the elevator, no doubt to see who was entering the room.

By the reaction I got, I wasn't whom he had expected. "Dude, Raven, it's the one guy we brought back from the bank!"

Slowly the blue and black clad figure turned around to face me, eyes narrowed as she glared at me. She lowered to the ground, landing gently on her feet as she walked forwards. I glared back at her; staring matches really didn't intimidate me. I had faced a lot worse.

"Well, it appears our visitor is feeling better. So, who are you?"

I contemplated her question for a few seconds, and decided not to answer. I didn't really want to give anything away that could be used against me. I didn't know these people, and as far as I was concerned, they didn't need to know me either.

My attention was drawn in another direction as a door burst open on the side of the room. Three figures came racing through. The redheaded girl, Robin, and the robot man. Just what I needed. I sighed, clenching my hands into fists as I slowly walked forwards. I stopped directly in front of the blue clad girl as we stared at each other for a few moments. She held a steady gaze, unfaltering her as I tried to stare her down. She was definitely a stubborn one. I shrugged; I had better things to do and more things to worry about. The first of which was getting out of this place.

I turned around as a figure approached from behind. I didn't even have to look to guess whom; it was Robin, once again. He held a hand out. "I'm Robin, we kinda got a chance to meet yesterday. I would like to formally introduce you to the teen titans." He pointed them out one by one. "This is Raven, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire." He looked at me, expecting a response. Why did it always come down to this?

Taking a deep breath, I responded. "The name's Chrone. I appreciate the help and all, but I really need to get going." I walked towards the stairs. A hand caught my shoulder, Robin once again.

I was beginning to get very aggravated. "Look, you're not fully recovered yet. At least stay here until you're wounds heal."

"I said no, I have places to go and things to do. I never really did the whole team thing." He walked in front of me, eying my wounded shoulder. My body had betrayed me again. A scarlet stain had formed on my shoulder and was quickly spreading. I had split the sutures.

"You're bleeding again, at least let Cyborg take a look at it." Cyborg walked forward, putting a hand on my wound as he examined it.

"I said NO! I meant it." I ripped from his grip as I stormed towards the exit. Cyborg pressed a button, and the door slammed shut in front of me. "You need to stay here for awhile. You're in no condition to leave."

I turned around to face him, eyes burning with rage as again I clenched my hands into fists. This was the last straw; I could only contain my anger for so long. All five of them jumped a little as the ridges protruded from my back. I groaned under my breath as I entered hyper-mode, racing towards the window.

Raven must have sensed what I was about to do, because a black blanket of energy coated the windows as I ran into it full on. I fell backwards stunned for a moment as I lay on my back. I felt one of the contacts fall out of my eyes. All five of them gathered above me, staring down with shocked expressions. My orange reptilian eyes with black pupils stared back up at them. In a spite of anger I rose to my feet, spun around, and forced my way between the two closest people. Entering hyper-mode again I felt myself fall to the ground as a black cloud of energy grabbed hold of my feet. I caught myself with my arms. I screamed out in pain as I felt the last of the sutures in my shoulder give way under the stress as more blood oozed from the wound, dripping through the uniform and onto the floor, leaving red splotches. I was slowly dragged backwards as I was pulled to my feet my Robin and Cyborg, who held me taunt. I narrowed my eyes at Raven as she lowered to the ground, walking towards me until her face was mere inches from mine. "Nice eyes."

I finally lost control of my emotions until I could no longer contain my rage. With all of my strength I drove my captors in opposite directions. Raven was the first person I had to worry about. Her powers could halt my escape. I raced towards her, quickly sheathing my spikes so I wouldn't hurt her. I didn't want to injure any one, and when I was attacking one hundred percent, a lot could happen.

I turned my spike, hitting her with the blunt side as I raced forwards, past her and towards the window. A green rhino blocked my path. Just what I needed. I didn't want to take the time or effort to face beast boy, especially not in this form. I dove to the ground, sliding beneath him, hopping to my feet on the opposite side. The window was right in front of me. I closed my eyes as I broke the window with my spikes, diving through and towards the looming ground below.

Using techniques I had learned in training, I maneuvered my body until I was parallel to the ground. Entering hyper-mode, my feet made contact with the side of the tower as I ran down the side of the building. As I neared the ground, I slowed at the last moment, turning so that I was once again running, this time on the ground. I reached a cliff, looking down at the churning waters below, and then back at the five bodies approaching quickly, three by air and two by foot. I couldn't take all of them at once, not again.

Without a second thought I leapt from the cliff, and into the waters below. My suit kept most of the water out of my uniform, but somehow, a small amount of salt water managed to find its way into my uniform. I cringed as it made contact with my bloodied shoulder. Salt water and wounds didn't really do that well together. I struggled to get my head above the water, as I began swimming to shore.

An hour later I was within range of the shore. I kicked harder, pushed my body to the extent. I just wanted to get away from the city and its inhabitants. Especially those "Teen Titans." Definitely didn't like them, their powers could match mine easily. That was not something I was used to having to worry about. I felt my knees scrape against the sand beneath me. The water was shallow enough to stand. I stumbled to my feet, looking at the horizon. It was close to night, sunset reflected across the waters. Rubbing the back of my neck, I ran my good arm over the spikes sticking out of my neck. I made my way to shore, tripping in the process as I fell into ankle deep water, salt water splashing upwards and into my eyes.

I blinked a few times, waiting for the stinging sensation to leave my eyes. I peeled my suit off to the waist, eying the damage to my wounds. Salt had lodged its self into both wounds, but it had helped to slow some of the bleeding, even if it hurt like hell. I reached into my backpack, grabbing a bottle of fresh water as I bathed my wounds. They didn't look so bad after I washed the blood away, though a fresh coat soon coated the area I had just cleaned.

I sat there for a few moments, watching the horizon as the sun slowly retreated behind the skyscrapers. It was peaceful, just sitting there, not having to worry about the troubles of the world. But alas, I knew such peace was not meant for me. No time in my life had ever been peaceful or easy. I cringed as shivers ran up and down my spine as the ridges retreated back into my body.

I slipped back into my blood soaked suit, feeling better as the thin layer of air once again separated my wet uniform from my skin. I eyed the spikes coming out of my arms. I thought about taking the time to saw them off, but decided against it yet again. They may yet have had use that night. It wasn't worth the time or the waste.

I hopped to my feet, slinging my backpack over my shoulders as I began jogging down the beach, towards the city that loomed beyond. I glanced back at the Tower once more, silently cursing the members of the Teen Titans. They had definitely caused me quite a hassle. Turning around, I jogged off into the welcoming night, away from the Tower and away from its inhabitants.

The teen titans sat on the couch, gathered around the TV, watching the footage from that afternoon. Having started where Chrone had left the infirmary and made his way to the main room where they had confronted him, and he had escaped. For the third time, they replayed the scenes where he had thrown Robin and Cyborg to the side, knocked Raven across the room, slid under Beast Boy, and jumped out the window.

"Man, did you see some of those moves? I've never seen someone move that fast, or disable us that quickly either. Imagine what he could do if he were fighting for us?" Cyborg finished.

Robin stood up, walking in front of the TV. "I planned on asking him to stay for awhile, and then if things worked out, I was considering asking him to stay for good. He obviously has the moves and skill to be a titan, but I don't know about the attitude. He was very much so against the idea. You saw what lengths he went to just to get out of the tower, I would hate to see what would happen if he were a criminal."

All eyes turned to Raven as she addressed her comrades. "Whomever this guy is, he has the skill, and the talent as Robin pointed out. I for one am a little skeptical as to whether we should jump right to asking him. We did that with Terra, and just look how that turned out." She looked straight at Beast Boy. He narrowed his eyes as she brought up Terra. Unfazed, she continued. "I suggest keeping tabs on him, first off is finding him. The city is a big place, there are innumerable places that he could be, or he might not even be in the city at all. I propose that for a while, we simply observe what he does in his spare time, recon. He obviously was a big help at the bank, but that could've been spur of the moment. We all saw how aggressive he was when he was in here. Emotional outbursts like that could endanger the entire team. We need dependable members, not people who we can only count on half of the time. There's also a good chance that he won't even want to join us. He didn't seem to crazy about the idea when we last had a chance to confront him about it. I believe his exact words were, 'I don't do teams.' That's really not the attitude we need."

Attention turned back to Robin. "I think that's a good idea for now, I'll alert the police to tell them to keep an eye out for our friend, as well as some of my local contacts. That's really all we can do right now. For tonight, don't worry about it. I'll talk to some people, see what I can find out about this notorious 'Chrone.' I suggest that everyone gets a good night's sleep tonight, we have training bright and early."

Everyone nodded in agreement as people headed out in various directions, Raven to her room, Cyborg to the lab, Robin the computer to see what he could dig up on their visitor. Beast Boy hooked up the game cube and progressed to playing a round of Halo, as Starfire headed over to kitchen to make some of her dreaded pudding.

I walked down into the abandoned alleyway, approaching the rusted door as I knocked three times. A gruff voice barked from the other side of the door. "Who's there?"

I sighed impatiently. Why did I have to go through this every time I came back to this place? "It's Chrone."

A panel in the door was pulled back as a pair of eyes peered out at me. I held up one of my spikes to show him that it was really me. The panel slid shut as I heard the locks being withdrawn as the door creaked open on its rusted hinges.

"Hey Chrone, the boss has been lookin' for you, you should probably go see him, he didn't sound too happy last time he came around here looking for you."

Again I sighed. This day just kept getting better and better. I made my way down the stairs, through the main room where other meta-humans sat around tables playing cards and in front of an old television set where some show was playing in black and white.

A few of the guys I knew waved to me, one or two asking where I had been. I smiled, waved, lied about my whereabouts, and made my way into the back hallway where I knocked on my boss's door. After a few moments I heard shuffling on the other side of the door as the door was opened to reveal my boss with a perturbed look on his face.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Uh, it was my day off, I kinda went out into the city for a break."

"Oh, well I changed my mind, you have a fight tonight. Blank dropped out this morning, got in a brawl with some gang, you have to take his place."

I shook my head; somehow I had seen this one coming. I rubbed my injured shoulder as my boss eyed it for the first time. His face turned to a surprised expression.

"What did you do to your shoulder?"

"Uh, got shot. It's ok, I just ripped the sutures."

"Well, go have Roy take a look at it. I need you in peak condition tonight you're going up against Reptan."

"Whatever. What time is the fight?"

"9:00. Be on time. Oh, and make sure you get rid of your spikes before the event. It always makes a better introduction when you materialize them in the ring. Gets the crowd more excited."

I shrugged, turning towards the door to walk out. I had enough time to get my shoulder stitched up and get somewhat cleaned up before the event. I looked back at my boss one more time. He had turned his TV back on. He had a cigar in his mouth, his beard looked like it hadn't been shaved in a few days. I was guessing it hadn't been that great of a week for him. Must have lost some bets.

I walked out of the room, shutting the door on my way out as I headed out of the room and down the hallway to go see Roy, the closest thing we had to anyone with medical training. He was ok for patching people up, but I don't necessarily think that I would entrust my life in his hands. He had gotten kicked out of medical school in his sophomore year. I still didn't know what for, he was very touchy about the topic.

I opened his door without knocking; he was never doing anything all that important. Most of the time you could find him with his head buried in a book. He looked up at me as I walked in. "So what did ya do to yourself this time?"

I shrugged, my lips curling upwards. "Got shot through the shoulder, and a graze along my side. Already got the bullet out, but the sutures broke."

"No problem, we can have that fixed up in no time. Go ahead and sit over at my table, I'll grab my kit. Strip to your waist."

He walked into the back room as I headed over to his card table, where he had a chair sitting next to it. I pulled off my wet uniform and sat down as he returned. He prodded around the wound, then turning to his kit he threaded a needle and went to work. I watched him with curious eyes as he went about fixing my battered body. Insert, pull tug, snip. I soon lost track of time as the minutes slipped by. Before I knew what was happening, he was finished, and moving onto the graze in my side. That one only required three sutures, the other ones had held. He cleaned the wounds one more time and then went ahead with bandages.

"Uh, I'll pass the bandages. Sensitive skin and all, they make me uncomfortable."

He shrugged. "Guess that's ok, you should be fine. Bet the boss would probably have ya go without them as well. With tonight's fight being first blood and all. He always likes it better when his fighters are presentable. My eyes narrowed as addressed him.

"Since when is this battle first blood? The boss never mentioned that little detail."

"Yeah, he's had it planned for awhile now, I'm surprised ya didn't hear. Well, you're all done. I would change your outfit before the battle, the one you have on is pretty bloody. Oh, and good luck tonight, it should be an interesting match."

"Thanks, for everything, but I need to go have a few words with the boss."

"There were a few misunderstandings about the match tonight" I rose to my feet, storming out of the room, grabbing my pack on the way out. Still stripped to the waist, I didn't care; I had to have a little chat with Tony, my boss. He had obviously been a little sketchy on the details.

Without knocking, I stormed into his office, slamming my fists on his battered desk. "When the hell did you plan on telling me this was a first blood battle? I told you that I wouldn't do them. I can do knockout, but I refuse to do first blood. I told you that when I first came here."

"Whoa. Slow down for a minute. Yes, this is a first blood battle, but I need you. I have important people coming tonight to see this battle; I need the best out there tonight. Reptan is Cory's number one fighter, I need you in the pit tonight."

"I said no, I meant it."

"Come on Chrone, I need you. There's no one else that can face this guy and win. There's a lot riding on this game tonight. Sixty Thousand dollars! Does that mean anything to you? That's how much is riding on this match tonight. I can pay you six, that's four times what you normally make."

I thought about this for a moment. "I want ten thousand. No less or I won't do it."

"Come on Chrone, we have a history. That's practically murder. I can't spare you that much."

"I want ten. I know you need me, there's no way you can get a fighter on this short of notice. Let alone one that can be Cory's champion. You and I both know that I am the best."

"Fine! Get out of here before I change my mind. Strip to the waist, I want this match to be good. I have some major clients coming tonight."

"Whatever. I have stuff to do." I turned around walking out of the room, allowing myself a small smile. Ten thousand, that was enough to keep me going for at least two months. More than enough for what I planned. I headed down another hallway, stopping before my door as I slid the key into the old lock, letting myself in.

I walked over to the bed, throwing my pack on top as I turned around, heading into the closet, and began gathering up the meager possessions I had. That bank incident had gained me a little more attention than I wanted. I planned on going through the match that night, and then splitting after getting my money. As I packed my gear into my backpack, I silently thought back over one of the speeches our trainers had given us. In fact, it had been one of the very first ones we had received….

…"Combat. The one word that will dictate your life, your very being. You guys are not here for a vacation. The U.S. government has invested millions to make capable fighters for the military, one-man assault teams. You will learn hand-to-hand combat starting today. The methods you will learn here are not the wimpy, recreational stuff that most people are taught. You will be taught how to disable any enemy, and if necessary, to kill. You will be taught how to survive in any situation, to always come out on top, and to accomplish your assignments. From this day forward, you no longer have an identity, you have a number. The number you have been branded with across the shoulder will become your only identification for the rest of your life, get used to it. Moving on, there are four steps to winning any battle against any foe. Step one, assess. Assess your potential enemy's skill level. Never enter a battle unless you know you will come out on top. Two, engage. Engage your enemy in combat. Three, disable. Unlike many recreational methods may boast, in true combat, there are no rules. Use your surroundings and the skills you have been gifted with to your advantage. Find your enemy's weakness and use it against them. Stage four, kill. Once you have crippled the enemy, if necessary deliver the final blow. If a foe poses a potential threat to you, or your mission, kill them. Never leave loose ends, they always come back to stab you in the back. Follow these four steps and you will win in any situation…"

I rubbed the branded number etched into my shoulder. 29134. For the eight years I had spent at that military complex, that number had become my identity, just as the generals and trainers had promised that very first day. I winced as I thought back over the training I had endured, often it had been abusive. Shaking my head, I brought myself back to the present as I zipped up my backpack, having gathered all of my materials. I grabbed my fighting uniform off of the bed, slipping out of the bloody one I was wearing and into the new one. Unlike most of the uniforms I had, this one had two pieces, a top and the bottom. I wore only the bottom, as instructed. Fighting with no protection on the upper body, while dangerous, made for a better show when it came down to first blood. It made things more dramatic.

I stuffed the bloody uniform into a plastic bag and then into my backpack as I went about opening my small black kit, grabbing the hand saw out of my bag. I pressed my arm against my leg as I began sawing off the first of my spikes. The genetic enhancements I had been fitted with allowed me to rematerialize my spikes whenever I felt like it. I didn't really understand all of it, but from what I had gathered, there was some special enzyme in my body that allowed me to do such things. After awhile though, if I rematerialized my spikes too often, the enzyme ran low and I could no longer get more spikes. I had only ever done that once, in a weeklong fight for my life behind enemy lines in North Korea. I had been deployed to retrieve a missing squadron of soldiers. Turned out, only one of them was left alive when I got there, and I had to work my butt off to get us both back alive. I barely made it out of that one. Some of the scratches I had gotten in various predicaments had become infected when I had to swim through a creek. Made me sicker than hell, it was worse than being shot. That one alone left me in the base infirmary for two weeks, puking my guts out whenever I managed to get something into my system.

I finished sawing off the first of my spikes, and then moved on to the second one. I paused for a moment to hold up the spike I had just cut off. They were ingenious in their design; I had to hand it to the scientists who had done the job. Both spikes emerged from my lower arm right below from the elbow. At the back, they ended in a hook shape. They then shot forwards, ending at about where my wrist was.

((((I know this is kinda hard to envision, so I made a pic of it on my comp. Check it out here's the link: http:img30.exs.cx/my.php?locimg30&imagechrone1xg.png))))

Finished sawing both of them off, I replaced the handsaw in my kit as I pulled my file out. I moved on to file them down until they were no more than round knobs protruding from my skin. The trick was to get them filed down to the right height. If I went to far, they had to re-grow, and I couldn't use them until then. Having made that mistake on more than one occasion I knew that it could take upwards of a month to re-grow again. Not to mention it hurt like hell. The only thing I can really compare it to is cutting your fingernails to short until you cut into live nail. It's the same way with my spikes. Up to a certain point, they are live bone, and when I cut into that part, it hurts like hell. I ran my hand over the now smooth, round knobs. Satisfied with the job, I put my kit away and looked at the clock, it was eight. I had a good half hour before I had to head down to the pit to check in.

I laid back on my bed, going through the final preparation, taking out my contacts. I had replaced the one I had lost back at the tower with a new one from my pack. I now took both of them out, blinking a few times. I wasn't used to having them out. The only time I ever removed them was for a fight or when I was sleeping. The titans I gotten a glimpse of them, and their reaction had been like everyone else's, one of shock and disgust. I had to fit into society as much as possible if I wanted to attract little attention. That meant contacts and long sleeved shirts all the time. Couldn't let people see my knobs on my arms or the ridges on my back.

I crossed my arms on my chest as I let my eyes droop shut as I went about the first stage of defeating any enemy, assessment. I reflected over all the times I had seen Reptan fight. He was definitely one to dive right in. He didn't have the grace or stamina that most fighters had, but made up for it with brute strength and size. I replayed some of the battles I had seen him in through my head, recalling everything that I knew about him. Knowing your enemy was a crucial step in defeating them.

Robin halted his endeavors on the computer as his personal communicator went off. He grabbed it off his belt as he answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey Robin, it's Deavons, I have a job I need your help with tonight."

"What is it?"

"We're gonna try to break up an underground fighting ring. We need people on the inside. People who won't attract attention to themselves."

"I think we can do that, what time do you need us?"

"The fight's at 9:00 tonight, I was hoping that I could get you and whomever else you wanted to bring down to the station within about twenty minutes."

"Uh, I guess I can do that. I'll bring Raven. No costumes I'm guessin'?"

"Yeah, we need you guys to blend in with the crowd."

"Sounds good, I'll meet you at the station in twenty minutes."

"See ya then."

The transmission ended as Robin spun around in his chair, leaving the lab as he headed up to Raven's room. He knocked on the door. It slowly opened a crack to reveal Raven.

"What do you want?"

"Uh, Sergeant Deavons has a job for us, an underground fighting ring. I need you to go with me. No costumes this time, normal street garb."

"Ok, whatever. I'll be downstairs in five minutes." She shut the door as Robin stood there, rubbing the back of his neck. He turned around, heading back to his room where he changed into a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, tennis shoes, leather jacket, and a pair of shades in place of his mask. He wore his costume underneath, pocketing the mask. Just in case, he silently thought to himself.

He proceeded to heading down to Cyborg's lab where he knew he would find his comrade. He walked in, Cyborg turned around from his computer console to face him.

"Uh, Raven and I have a job in the city tonight, an underground fighting ring the police want to break up. Mind being backup tonight?"

"No problem, I'll be right down."

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were standing in Deavon's office.

"Ok, here's how it's going to work. Raven, Robin, you two will be the insiders on this one, keep us aware of what's going on inside. We need to catch an actual fight in progress to get the bust. If all goes well, we'll be able to bring in the ringleader, his fighters, and major clients. Cyborg, you can help our forces on the outside. We have two SWAT teams in on this one, I'm sure they wouldn't mind some help. Here are the tickets, and your headsets. The fight is downtown, in an abandoned warehouse, here's the address. Now hurry up and get down there, the fight starts in half an hour. We don't have much time."

I hopped off my bed, taking one more look in the mirror as I prepared to head down to the pit for the fight. I shouldered my pack, heading down the warehouse where the fight would be held, conveniently adjoined to the current building I was in.

I headed down a few hallways, waving at various people and meta-humans as they prepared for their matches or were heading down to the ring to watch. Tonight's match was going to be a big one. I walked through the main room, and through the double doors that led to the pit. I headed down the stairs, beneath the platforms where spectators would watch. The pit was basically that, a pit. Elevated platforms were arranged around the warehouse at different levels. The pit was a twenty by twenty hole in the ground with a dirt floor and wooden walls. The lowest viewing platform was a good fifteen feet above the ground with railings to prevent anyone from falling in.

I strode down to the check in table, where a guy sat with a list in front of him. I gave him my name, handing over my pack as I was allowed past him. There was no locker room or anything, only the wooden doors on opposite ends of the pit where the two competitors entered. As I stood in front of the door, my boss approached from the shadows without a sound. I turned to face him.

"Hey Chrone. Good luck tonight, do me a favor and beat the crap out of this guy. Sixty thousand dollars, that's a lot. Try not to hurt him too bad; I have to pay for the damages myself. If necessary though, you can rough him up a bit, but if anyone asks, I advised against it."

Without waiting for a response, he turned around, walking towards the stairs, no doubt to go to his reserved platform to watch the match. I shook my head as the two guys standing next to me nodded towards me, opening the doors as I jogged in.

I winced at the sound of the crowd. My match had drawn a lot more people than I was used to coming to these matches. People screamed, clapped, whistled, and stomped their feet as I came in, eying my adversary as he did the same from the opposite side. The match was about to begin.

I moved to the side of the ring as the doors slammed shut behind me and were locked. No turning back now. I closed my eyes for a moment as the ridges protruded from my back, my spikes materializing as the crowd went into a frenzy, cheering even more loudly. I looked at my reptilian opponent. He was roughly shaped like a man, stood on two legs. But then, he was more like an alligator or something of the sort. Scales covered his body; he had a head and snout that resembled that of an alligator, sharp rows of teeth smiling at me as his forked tongue danced around in his mouth. Large feet and hands ending in claws, a tail swishing back and forth behind him.

He made the first move, charging towards me. I quickly sidestepped him as he missed me, screeching to a halt right before hitting the wall as he turned around to face me once more. I smiled at him, raising an eyebrow. I knew exactly what I was doing. By provoking him he lost his intelligent train of thought, and would charge in blindly, I was exploiting his weakness.

He did just as I had suspected him to do, charging in again like a mad bull. This time, I leapt into the air, springing off his back as he was thrown off balance landing on the ground. I made my move, turning around and landing on his back before he had the chance to get up. My weight didn't do much to faze him as he rose to his feet, charging towards the nearest wall as I held on with all of my strength. He turned at the last moment, ramming his backside, and me, into the wall. I slid off his back wincing as I fell to the ground. He smirked at me, placing a clawed foot on my chest as he pressed downwards. I cringed as he pressed harder and harder, until most of his 400 pounds was bearing down on my stomach. A body could only take so much abuse. In a last ditch effort; I grabbed his leg, wrenching it to the side as he fell to the ground next to me. I hopped to my feet; he glared up at me grinning.

What did he have to be so happy about? I was the one standing over him.

"Round one goes to Reptan!"

I looked down at my chest; a thin river of blood ran down from the gash in my side. The stitches had given way again.

I groaned inwards as we again took our positions on opposite sides of the ring, preparing for the second round of three.

"Well if it isn't our mysterious friend. He definitely gets around." Raven whispered to Robin.

He heard the voice of Deavons in his ear. "What's going on? Is there a fight in progress? Robin! I need some answers. I have two teams waiting out here for my signal."

"Yeah, there's a fight in progress, but can we hold off for a few minutes? I want to see this fight. As a personal favor to me?"

"Uhhh! Fine! Just make sure to contact me before the match is over. We need to catch them in the act."

"Ok. Deal."

Raven looked at him skeptically. "Why did you do that?"

"I want to see how he fights in action. We got a taste of it earlier, but I want to see how he does against an adversary twice his size."

"Whatever. Are you still actually considering asking him to be a titan? He's involved in criminal activities." Robin motioned Raven to be quiet; the second round was about to begin.

We were motioned forward by the referee stationed on the platform above us. You really didn't want to get stuck in the ring in the middle of a match.

Once again, Reptan raced forwards, plowing towards me. As he bypassed me, I stuck a leg out as he went reeling towards the ground. I released a slight chuckle as he picked himself up, face chalked in mud from the arena.

We circled for a few seconds as I moved in, spikes aimed towards him. I entered hyper-mode; it was time to get to work. I barreled towards him, driving a shoulder into his chest. He went reeling backwards as I pulled to a stop in the center of the ring. That burst had taken a lot out of me. I stood in a combat stance, arms held out in front of me defensively.

He rolled over once again, but this time just stood there, weighing his options. I didn't give him time to do just that as I charged towards him again, this time driving one of my spikes towards his scaled shoulder. I ran past him, turning around to see the damage I had done.

My eyes opened wide with horror as I noticed he hadn't even been nicked by my spike, still no blood. I thought back to the matches I had seen him fight in. The only places I had ever seen him bleed were the wrist, the bottom of his foot, and the skin beneath his chin. Nice, this was going to make things a lot more difficult.

I charged towards him again, knocking him back against the wall as wood splintered in all directions. I immediately grabbed his foot, driving my spike through his foot and out the other side.

A howl of pain erupted from his foot as he kicked me backwards. I shook my head as I heard the ref call out.

"Round two to Chrone!"

The last round had arrived. I looked over at Reptan, hobbling over to the wall, favoring his injured foot. I didn't blame him; I wouldn't have wanted to be on the receiving end of that attack either.

He looked towards me maliciously as I waved to him. He turned around to face me, claws fully extended, tail beating back and forth vigorously. He charged forwards as the final round began. I effortlessly dodged that attack, stepping to the side. I turned around to face him, but he was nowhere to be seen. I winced as I felt myself being grabbed by two sets of reptilian hands, claws digging into my flesh as he squeezed tighter and tighter. I craned my neck around to face him; he glared at me with a toothy grin.

I took my one free arm behind me, driving it towards his head. He ducked with little difficulty, and then opening his mouth, as he bit down on my already injured shoulder.

My confidence went out the window as I felt teeth break through flesh and chomp down on my muscles and bone. With the last bit of rational thought in my mind, I took my spike to his throat, he withdrew howling once again. I looked to the referee for a judgment.

"DRAW!"

I shook furiously, trying to contain my anger. Rivers of blood cascaded down from my shoulder as it hung limply at my side. He glared at me, angrily. He had expected to win that one too.

I looked over to my boss, he nodded twice. I acknowledged his motion by nodding back at him. I had just received the permission I needed to release my full fury. Tony had just given me permission to disable him by all means necessary, but to try not to kill him.

I ran my good hand over my shoulder, I could clearly see down to the bone, shredded muscle hanging from the wound. This was to be the final round. I no longer cared if I killed him. The damage he had done would take weeks to heal.

I charged toward him, he charged towards me. I extended my arms, using all of my effort just to get my injured arm up, but I needed both spikes to accomplish the attack I had planned. Just as we were about to collide, I sprung into the air, driving my spikes towards him full force. No longer was I messing around or holding back. He was about to experience the full wrath of my anger combined with my abilities and training. Full force, my spike drove into his chest, shattering scales as it dug into his flesh, three, four inches in.

I withdrew the spike as I raised both of them into the air and began repetitively stabbing him. Only a few of them actually punctured through the scales, but by the howling he was doing, I suspected that I was doing some damage. As a last attack, I buried my entire spike into his shoulder, just as he had bitten down on mine. I wretched my arm to the side as I felt my spike break off from my arm, buried into his shoulder. With the last bit of effort he had, he grabbed for my head, he managed to get hold of it. He squeezed on my skull, intent on breaking it. I had no intention of letting him do that. I felt the claws scraping against my face, cheeks, forehead, and neck. I drove my leg back against the spike I had buried in his shoulder as he finally let go, collapsing to the ground clutching his shoulder.

"Match goes to Chrone!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar as I beamed at my boss. I nodded towards him, giving him a small salute. He beamed back at me, I wouldn't expect any less, he had just won sixty thousand dollars. That was no small purse.

I walked back towards the wall, planning on exiting the ring.

"FREEZE! Jump City Police!" Twenty plus black clad SWAT team members rappelled down from the ceiling, some to each level, four to the platform above me, weapons aimed down at me and my newly fallen adversary. I watched out of the corner of my eye as two figures pulled off the clothes they were wearing, revealing their uniforms. If it wasn't Raven and Robin of the Teen Titans. Just what I needed on this already terrible day.

I made a split towards the exit, as the doors opened and two shield bearing officers came charging in. I entered hyper-mode, lowering my good shoulder as I barreled past them and out of the blood stained pit. I looked around, officers were heading in all directions, pursuing and herding my fellow fighters towards the exit. I glanced back at the brightly lit pit, the officers were on their feet, but had decided to take care of Reptan first. I didn't blame them. I grabbed my pack as I ran through the corridor and into the nearest hallway, which I knew led to an exit. Every hallway led to an exit eventually. I glanced back, someone had finally noticed me and two officers were chasing after me.

I stumbled, falling to the ground, letting out a cry as I landed on my shredded shoulder. The two officers were immediately on top of me. They rolled me over, hauling me to my feet, as I was dragged back towards the pit and the waiting teen titans no doubt.

I had no intention of being arrested. I glared at them with my orange eyes as I entered hyper-mode, catching both of them off guard as I pummeled them forwards, jumping over their fallen bodies as I raced back down the hallway.

Two figures crouched down next to the officers, then came charging after me. I knew they were the two titans based on the fact that one of them was flying. I ducked into the nearest room, looking back behind me. I smacked my head as I noticed that I was leaving a trail of blood.

I also took note of the fact that the world was beginning to spin around me. The blood loss and exhaustion were catching up to me. I peered out into the hallway, to meet the eyes of the masked caped crusader.

I drove my good fist into his chest as I turned, running down the hallway once more. He doubled over, but quickly regained his composure and came racing after me. I took the nearest flight of stairs, up to ground level, and then upwards again to the roof.

I could hear the pounding of his metal boots against the stairs below me as he continued the chase. I lowered a shoulder as I knocked the locked door off of its hinges, emerging on the metal roof of the warehouse. Robin and Raven didn't take long to appear.

Raven prepared a burst of energy when Robin held up a hand. "Let me take him on my own." She nodded towards him as he approached me. Great, another fight, four rounds with Reptan, not to mention the escape from the Tower, the swim to shore, and the escapade at the bank, all in the course of one day. Now the teenaged brat wanted to play. Well, play we would.

He charged forwards, fists extended in front of him. I sidestepped, entering hyper-mode and hitting him from behind, sending him sprawling to the ground. H rolled over, kicking upwards as I loomed over him. I screamed out as he caught my shoulder with a foot. As if I hadn't taken enough abuse already.

As I pulled a red hand away from my shoulder, he eyed my wounds. All of the sutures had split for the second time that day, blood dripped from the gashes on my face, trickling into my eyes and mouth. Muscle and bone could be seen in my shoulder, and still, he kept coming.

I closed my eyes for a moment as I composed myself. The world was spinning once again. This guy really didn't know when to call it quits. Neither did I for the matter. He charged towards him, my one spike out in front of me. I drove a fist into his eye as he hopped to his feet. He groaned, I craned my head to the side, wiping blood from my eyes at the same time.

He grabbed something from his belt. I had heard about those things. They had a dorky name, birdorangs or something. He held three of them between his fingers as he hurled them at me all at once. I dodged the first one, deflected the second one with a spike. I felt a searing pain as one of them made contact with my leg. Just what I needed, more gashes. Eying him, eying his partner, I knew that this was one battle that I couldn't win. I looked around, looking for a route of escape. The only one that came to mind was jumping off the roof and pulling the same kind of trick that I had out of the Tower window that afternoon.

I looked back once more; entering hyper-mode I raced towards the edge of the building. I took a running leap as I jumped from the building, into the air. I allowed myself a small smile as I looked up to see the bewildered faces of Robin and Raven. I looked back down; I still had a good twenty feet to the ground. I maneuvered my body parallel to the ground as I felt something wrap around my right leg, jerking me to a stop. Halting my descent. I swung back and forth in the air, Robin's grappling hook wrapped around my ankle. He grinned down at me, giving me a small salute as Raven summoned a black ball of energy around me as I was pulled back to the roof. Raven elevated me in the air, facing towards her and Robin.

I narrowed my eyes at them as I tested the energy surrounding me. It wasn't that strong, I decided to give it one more shot. I thrust my body forward, apparently catching both of them off guard as the black mist dissipated, I managed to get a leg into Robin's gut as I angled my spike towards his chest, but the black energy enveloped me again, this time restricting me even tighter, forcing my limbs against my side as Robin picked himself up and walked towards me.

"Well, I have to hand it to him, he definitely is a determined one." Raven's eyes turned pure white as she summoned more power, building it up inside my restrictive bonds, as the bonds grew stronger, until I couldn't even twitch a muscle. Robin walked up towards me, cocking his head to the side as he looked at me. He stopped a foot in front of me, reaching a gloved hand out to my wound, pulling it back dripping with blood.

"Let's get him down to Cyborg, he's gonna need a lot of patching."

Raven nodded as she formed a flat disk of black energy, which she and Robin walked onto as she lowered us to the ground. It wasn't as if I had much choice in the matter.

Three SWAT officers met us as we reached the ground, two aiming their weapons at my head. As if I really had a chance to get away. I was blinking back exhaustion with every passing moment, the pain I had refused to acknowledge had taken its revenge, I was definitely feeling it now that things had finally slowed down, and I was no longer driven by adrenalin. I felt my warm blood trickle from my cuts, and scrapes, and flow freely from my shoulder and side.

"We'll take him from here Robin." A voice said from behind the three officers. They made an opening as a figure walked in between them.

"Uh, you're welcome I guess, but I think we'll take care of this one personally. He's the one that helped with the bank and all. Can you cut him a little slack? We plan on taking him back to The Tower with us. He's gonna need a lot of medical attention. We'll keep an eye on him."

"I suppose, you can take him, but I don't want to have to regret this." He eyed me and my wounds one more time before turning around and walking back towards the flashing lights of police vehicles, leaving me with the two people I hated most at that moment.

"Let's get him over to the T-car, any idea where Cyborg is?"

"I think he parked on the other side of the warehouse." She flew in the general direction of where I suspected we would meet Cyborg, me in tow. Robin jogged after us, watching me the entire time. Like I was really gonna try anything, really. I doubted I even had the energy at that point.

My head dropped to my chest as my eyelids began to droop. I fought against my body's will, I wouldn't pass out. I focused on keeping my eyes open, trying to raise my head to no avail. My energy had long ago been depleted.

I glanced wearily around as my fellow fighters were dragged kicking and screaming into the police trucks. One being carried caught my attention. It was my old pal Reptan. I allowed myself a silent chuckle as I imagined him wearing an orange jumpsuit. I then looked back over to Raven, and then down at Robin, I had yet to figure out why they were so interested in me in particular.

My thoughts were diverted as I spotted what I assumed was the "T-car." Man did they have dorky names for just about everything. Birdorang, the T-car? Raven lowered herself to the ground, keeping me hovering just above the earth as her animatronic friend approached.

"Hey Rae, how did things go? Who do you have here?"

She turned me around so that I was facing the curious figure. His jaw dropped as he saw my wounds, and then realized that it was me.

"Our all familiar friend from this morning." Raven said sarcastically.

He quickly approached; fingering my wound as he examined it, blood coating his artificial hand. As he stuck a finger into the shoulder wound its self, I screamed out, trying to draw backwards. Raven must have been taken by surprise, because she let her guard down, I was sent sprawling across the cement, landing in a heap, my shoulder taking the impact.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I wouldn't cry, I wouldn't. The pain may have been unbearable, but I wouldn't cry. Tears were a sign of weakness. I wouldn't allow these people that kind of satisfaction.

I rolled over, gasping for air as the pain overwhelmed me. Everything was red, my chest, my face, my vision, my hands. A blanket of blood covered every visible part of my upper body.

I made a futile attempt to stand. I managed to make it to my feet before my legs gave out on me and I collapsed to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. Cyborg jogged over to my side, rolling me over onto my back as he ran a scanner over my beaten body.

"Jeez Rae, that was kinda harsh."

"I didn't mean to-"

I began to struggle, squirming away as Cyborg placed a hand on my uninjured shoulder. "Easy, stay still." I struggled more violently; he tightened his grip until I cried out. Couldn't he understand? I couldn't take any more pain!

I began to shake uncontrollably, what was wrong? Robin approached from behind, he had a stretcher I his arms. He brought it over as Cyborg rolled me over onto my injured side. I couldn't keep the pain hidden any longer, nor my emotions contained. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I continued to shiver, mixing with the blood that already covered my face. My tears turned red as they flowed down my cheeks and onto my chest. I was rolled back over, this time on the stretcher as Cyborg grabbed something out of his medical bag. Bandages. He bunched a wad of them into a ball as he pressed them against my shoulder, filling the gaping hole. My eyes opened wide in horror. I just wanted the pain to stop.

"Stop, please…"

"Easy, we'll take care of you."

He wrapped more bandages around my shoulder, then placing a blanket over me as I was strapped into place, the gurney lifted, and placed into the back of the T-car where the seats had been laid down to make room.

My eyes drooped shut as I passed out, the pain finally ending.

I apparently wasn't out very long, because I woke up as I was being moved to an examination table. An oxygen mast obscured my vision, but I was able to make out Raven, Robin, and Cyborg moving about the infirmary, the very one I had found myself in the previous morning. I felt steel restraints being applied to my chest, arms, and legs, holding me immobile on the cold table.

Cyborg walked around to my head, pulling back my drooping eyelids, shining a blinding light in. "Hey, you're awake. You're pretty bashed up, its gonna be a long night for all of us. How are you feeling?"

How the hell did he think I was feeling? But the most I could manage was a groan.

I raised my head a little, looking down at my battered body. I let it fall back against the table as Cyborg yelled something over to Raven.

"Get me some blood expanders, he's lost to much. Robin, get a sample of his blood down to the lab and clone six units for him. He's lost way to much blood as it is. Rae? Grab me some prophamine, let's go ahead and knock him out for the night, the next few hours are going to be pretty painful.

Oh God not drugs. I could handle the pain, no drugs.

"No…drugs. Please…" I pleaded with him.

He looked down at me, laying a hand on my forehead. "There's no way you could take the pain."

Raven handed him something as he raised a syringe into the light, filling it with some sort of chemical. I watched with horror filled eyes as he brought it down towards me. I tried to struggle, to break free. I didn't care that it was physically impossible. I just wanted to get away from everything. He laid a hand on my arm, finding a vein as I felt the needle break through skin. A burning sensation, a great pain, and my eyes slid shut as I passed into oblivion for the third time that day.