1Chapter Six: Test Run

"Grrr..."

Curly was growling at the door. The room was entirely dark, he had no lights on whatsoever. There was no movement, only his breathing and mumbled curses broke the silence. He stared, straight forward, crouched down like some predator waiting for it's prey. They had taken his coat, again. They had taken all of his weapons, again. They had taken the keys to his car, again. And they had locked him in this unbearable room, AGAIN!

"Grrr..."

Red X was already gone, he knew. He had heard them escorting the thief to who knew where a few minutes ago. Yet another thing that just made his day. Not only was he locked in here, the thief, the one who started this entire situation, get's taken somewhere so he can 'be safe'. While he, the innocent civilian who was merely seeking the return of his stolen property was LOCKED IN THIS STUPID ROOM!

"Grrr..."

Meanwhile, as the scientific teen's temper boiled, Robin was having a talk with his old mentor. The towering figure, wrapped in a black cloak and wearing the mask of a bat was imposing to everyone, him included. But he had become comfortable with it, accepted it. After all, they had been partners for a while...

"Let me review this one more time. I'm taking him, a known thief and criminal, to my home to protect him from a criminal mastermind."

"Yes, that's about right."

"...Great, I have another you to deal with. Only this one's older and more stubborn..."

"Hey, I wasn't a thief!"

"Only because you became Robin first. You had quite an attitude problem."

Robin scratched the back of his head, "Heh, well if anyone can reform him, it's you. Just brood around like you usually do, you'll scare him away from crime."

"It's what I do. Anyway, do you have any information on Slade's whereabouts?"

"No, the place that Red X told us the deal took place at was completely vacant, I already checked. He's..."

"No need to try and explain the persona of a supervillain to me Robin. I've seen it all."

"But Slade's... Different..."

"How so?"

"He doesn't have gimmicks or patterns. He just goes and does what he does, wrecking havoc until we manage to stop him then disappearing into the shadows..."

"Hmmm... I'd love to stay and talk about this Robin, but I have business in Gotham. Duty calls."

"Alright," Robin nodded, then as Batman walked over to his Batjet, the boy wonder yelled, "Say hi to Gordan and Alfred for me!"

Batman gave a wave, before jumping into the plane and speeding off, taking X with him. Robin sighed, heading back into the tower. He had meant to talk to the Dark Knight about Curly, but there simply hadn't been time. He'd have to call later. Robin had already sent out searches on the Justice League database, but so far had come up blank.

It was almost as if the lunatic had 'poof'-ed himself into existence just to annoy him... And for all Robin knew, he had. And he was a disrespectful lunatic at that... Yet he couldn't shake the feeling that the entire persona of harmlessness was just a front. He had scene part of it already, the reckless abandon, the eagerness to throw all available weaponry at the enemy... Curly was not someone you wanted running loose.

Starfire was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairwell, hiding slightly, "Is the 'Bat-man', gone?"

"Yes Star, he's gone."

She stood up, still cringed over a bit, "He frightens me."

Robin chuckled, "He's good at that. But don't worry, as long as you're a good guy, you don't have anything to worry about."

"That is good to know. I do not believe that I would like to be the focus of his anger."

"...Never a good place to be, you can take my word for it."

They walked together in silence for a bit, when Starfire decided to ask, "Robin, what are the 'tights' our new friend accused you of wearing, and why are they so bad?"

The boy wonder froze on the spot, turning once again beet red. Choking, he couldn't say anything, but set off for what looked like the training room. The young Tameranian shrugged, and decided she would go and talk to Raven. She had not done that recently.

Raven was in her room, as usual. But not like usual, she was nearing the end of her book. This was not something that you came across every day, as her books were all old, and very long. In fact, now she was on the last page...

'...It is still speculated that Curond Lon So did not die as was commonly believed. But this is perhaps based more on the myth, the legend, and not so much the man. Many simply can not accept that one of, if not the greatest warrior the land of Aderva had ever seen could be killed by so simple an incantation. And what's more, that his wife Ristaria could have suffered the same fate, as she was powerful in the art of magic in her own right, as well as both of their children who were also at the battle. All that was left of the family was the brooch of Ristaria, their daughter Treala's cloak, their son Vasond's daggers, and Curond's sword, Delkary. Alas, for all the stories, there has not been a single word heard from any of them, and even the items that belonged to them have dissapeared over the years. However, they have taken their place along with the dragons Stersecra and Talimat, Einderan Myrcelarin Gerwinus, and Nevik Nella, as legends of Aderva...'

And with that, she closed the book, turning it over to look at the cover again. That had gone by quickly. It had so caught her attention that most of her waking hours were dedicated to reading it. She was smiling, as now she had something for her brother when he returned. Which she sorely hoped would be soon...

Hmmm... What to do now... Darn it, she had read her other books, and she didn't get her spending money until the end of the week. And even then, she would likely have to save for a while before she could afford another such volume as this. And she had checked with her supplier, books on portal-making were very expensive, due to high demand... Maybe she could try and get Robin to give her an advance or something...

Heh... Or she could go in all red eyed and demonic, that might work to. And be rather amusing... The greedy little dog would die... Not that it would be hard to accomplish that though, a fly could beat up the inter-stellar merchant. He just had connections. Connections which happened to keep him alive... Well, at least he accepted Earth money, which was more than she could say for the few other dealers of magical goods on the planet... She could trade around for books, but most of the items she owned held a symbolic or sentimental value.

There was a knock on the door, causing her to look up in a bored fashion, "Who is it?"

"It is I, you're friend Starfire."

"What do you need?"

"I wish merely to talk."

"...Come on in, the door is open."

The young Tameranian floated in, comfortable with the surroundings despite their dark overtones. She had been in Raven's room enough to know what was dangerous and what was not. Generally, if it was in her room it was dangerous. If it wasn't, it was safe. So, she just resisted the urge to touch things.

"Anything particular you wanted to talk about?"

"...Yes..."

Raven arched an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side slightly. That was unbecoming of the alien, she hardly ever missed the chance to ask a question, "What about?"

"Well, Robin seemed rather angry..."

"About?"

"...I still do not know what these 'tights' are. Nor do I see why it is funny."

The sorceress had to fight a very strong urge to giggle. It took an immeasurable amount to explain it with a straight face, "Tights are something that not many boys wear, and those that do are often... Not normal. It's funny because by asking that he was indirectly making fun of Robin."

"Hmmm..."

"It's a joke, something he did to get on Robin's nerves. Like one of Beast Boy's pranks, only, funny."

"...I believe I understand now! Well, not really, but I shall in time! Anyway..."

Raven scooted over and let Starfire sit down, the way that they had done for a while. They had begun to talk more and more lately, being the only two girls on the team, "Something else?"

"I am curious, what is your impression of our new friend?"

"...Curly?"

"Yes. I have not been able to find out much about him. Have you?"

"Not really... There is more to him than there seems. But, for now I have to take him at face value. He seems to be a slightly unstable, technological type person. In his words, a semi-mad scientist... How on earth he came up with that I'll never know... But I do not think he is particularly bad. Though he is probably very hostile towards Robin now."

"Why?"

"...Remember way back, when the team first started, Robin tried to take away Cyborg's keys to the T-Car?"

"Yes. He was quite, angry."

"That's how boys get with their stuff. Especially people like Curly and Cyborg, they made what they have, and are in a way attached to it. It's never a good idea to take something away from them. Like the generator that Red X stole."

"Yes, I do see you're point."

"Starfire, have you ever heard of anything like that on another planet? The generator I mean? Dark energy?"

"...I am not exactly well traveled, but I have not heard of any such device before, not to my understanding."

"Hmmm... Anyway... Did Robin say when he was going to give back Curly's coat and weapon's?"

"...No, though I believe he will be checking on him soon."

Raven couldn't keep the small grin down, knowing that a lightbulb somewhere was exploding, "That won't end well... Come on."

Cyborg and Beast Boy were already waiting, just peeking around the corner down the corridor where Curly's room was. Robin seemed to be the only one unaware of the danger he was in. The half-robot and changeling only just suppressed a chuckle. Robin stopped and glanced behind him, but the others ducked back before he saw them.

Shrugging it off, he started walking towards the door again. He stopped and knocked on the door, "Hey."

There was no reply. Frowning, the boy wonder knocked again, this time more insistently, "Answer me, you alright."

Still nothing. Narrowing his eyes, he mumbled something and opened the door, "If you aren't dead you're going to be... Curly?"

"Where are you? Why do you have all the lights off?", he asked, taking a tentative step forward, squinting against the darkness. A deep growl answered from the shadows. He tried to gulp down the lump in his throat, "Is that you?"

The other titans didn't hear any of that. They just heard Robin scream and Curly roar, as the older teen speared the boy wonder right out of the room, slamming him into the wall. The normally lab-coat wearing teen began to slam the leader of the titan's head into the ground, using it to punctuate each word, "Give, me, back, my, stuff, you, arrogant, snobby, stuck up, prudish, dysfunctional, traffic light, wannabe, goody, two shoes, boy scout!"

Beast boy was rolling, Cyborg's circuits were overloading, Raven had to leave before she blew up the tower, and Starfire... Well, she was an exception...

"RELEASE ROBIN YOU FIEND!"

"Wha-?"

Now, very few people have experienced being hit full on by a barreling freight train. Well, not many people have survived to describe what it felt like anyway. But for some reason, Curly had a sneaking suspicion that it felt a bit like being slammed into by a Tameranian princess defending her boyfriend. Perhaps a bit less painful.

Robin got up, rubbing his head. That hadn't actually done that much damage, but it hurt like crap and now there was a knot the size of his fist on his forehead. But otherwise unscathed. He looked around for his attacker.

As it turned out, he was a pretty long way down the hall. He was laying on his stomach, one arm under him, the other splayed out to his side. Starfire hovered, eyes and fist glowing an emerald green. Soon though, this faded, and her hands went to her mouth, "Oh my, friend, are you alright?"

She flew over towards him as Curly attempted to rise to his hands and knees, "I think that you've shattered my third, fourth, and fifth ribs and snapped the better part of my upper vertebrae..."

"I did not mean to-"

"Just, stay away from me. I don't need you braking my neck like a tooth pick..."

"Please, I-"

"Shut up... Dang it besides tin-man and Beast Boy all you people have done is tie me up, take my stuff, lock me in a room... If you want me to even consider not trying to blow up this infernal asylum while you sleep, some mutual measure of trust would be nice!"

"Sorry, randomly blowing stuff up, endangering the lives of innocent people, attacking me, that's not a strong base for any trust at all." Robin told him, standing up and crossing his arms.

"Oh honestly, if you seriously considered THAT an attack, you don't deserve the title of hero, much less superhero. Ok, at this rate I'm going to get killed, and I'm probably going to take a few of you with me, so let's work this out now."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I want my stuff back."

"And I know you aren't going to go ballistic how?"

"Mutual trust remember."

"Ok... We get to decide where in the tower you go and when you can or can't leave. In addition you will have a curfew. If you aren't with one of us and you're not in your room between the hours of 10 and 7, we will take you down."

"...Fair enough. I guess..."

"We have a deal?"

Finally managing to stand up and walk over, Curly shook Robin's hand, "Ya... Deal... Can I go to the hospital now, I wasn't kidding when I said I thought she'd broke my ribs..."

TEEN TITANS!

"...Are you sure we shouldn't be going in with him Rob?"

"Yes, is he not still injured?"

"Don't worry Starfire, he's fine. And Cyborg, I want to know what he can really do. Besides, he said it himself, he likes to work solo."

"...Well, so do I, but you never let me do missions on my own."

"Quiet Raven..."

"Ya, I actually wouldn't mind trying to go a few on my own either."

"Same here."

"...Friend Robin, I am also curious as to how I would fair."

A vein popped out of Robin's forehead, "We are not splitting up! This is just a test run to see how good he really is!"

"Now now kids, play nice."

"Shut it Curly."

"Hehehe..."

Robin took a deep breath, letting the stress flow out of him. When he was ready he turned back to the screens in the T-Car that showed the activity within the club via it's own security system. The bar was full, there were lots of people on the dance floor, the place was packed.

"Remember, don't go run and gun this time. There are lots of people you could hit."

"I'm actually a very good shot, thank you very much."

Raven arched an eyebrow, "Really? You have a funny way of showing it."

"Hey, X doesn't count. That dude is just really really hard to hit. You try shooting at someone you can't see."

"As interesting as this conversation could turn out to be," the boy wonder said, cutting Raven off, "Moving on. There are innocent people there, but tonight the four leaders of the biggest gangs in Jump City are supposed to be meeting. I would guess about three fourths of those people are carrying guns."

"Hmmm... A rifle versus a machine gun."

"Right, you're outgunned, so be careful."

"...I'm not the rifle in that analogy. Is there anything else mother?"

"...Don't start Curly. This is a test, but remember those will be real bullets and real people. If it gets too hot call us in."

"Pfft... I'm betting on ten minutes. I'm going in, sky high."

Inside of the club, four men seated around a table were talking about the rising problem that the Teen Titans were causing. They had begun to crack down, hard.

"Gentleman, between the four of us we control the entire lower echelon of crime in Jump City. At first the Titans left us alone for the most part, but now that they have fried most of the bigger fish now they turn their attention to our dealings."

"Word dog, my boys ain't been able to pass a shipment o' nothin last few weeks."

"Trafficking stolen goods has gotten harder to. Most of my experienced guys have already been busted, and these new ones are so green around the gills I don't think they even stole a cookie from the jar when they were kids."

"My side of things... I'll just say it, my entire business is going. Most of the shops have stopped making payments, and threaten to report us if we try anything. The car industry isn't much better. How about you?"

The main organizer of the meeting straightened his tie. He wore an expensive suit, showing that he was a bit above the others in rank, "I'm afraid things are not going well for me either. High level theft is simply out of the question. Someone so much as thinks something is happening at a museum or gallery and the Titans come running."

"What about those two new guys? The ones that ripped off the vault and no can even figure out how?"

"Tha's what I'm talking 'bout. We need some serious skills like that man. Come on, you got to have something about them."

"Sadly, I haven't been able to find out anything. Whoever they are, they work on their own level. I haven't even gotten an alias, much less a name on either of them. However, I have worked out a deal with a certain criminal to assist us with our woes."

"Who?"

"Red X has agreed to show my men how to crack these new security systems. And I can't think of a better candidate for the job."

"Now that's the best news I've heard all month."

"But still, what do we do about the Titans themselves-"

Suddenly, there was an explosion above them. Pieces of the ceiling fell down, and when the dust settled there was a curly haired figure in a lab coat standing in the middle of the dance floor.

"Everybody freeze, this is a stick-up!", he yelled, pulling out two pistols and pointing them in random directions.

He was expecting some people to run and scream. But, none did. In fact, all of them reached into their coats, jackets, pockets, purses, whatever they had and pulled out guns of all shapes, sizes, and models. The sounds of weapons being cocked filled the air monotonously. Rolling his eyes with a sigh, Curly let his arms fall and looked around.

"Robin, when you said three fourths, are you sure it was three fourths? Are you sure it wasn't, ALL OF THEM!", sighing again, he looked over at the DJ, who was ducked down behind his work station, "Well, at least someone doesn't have a-"

The DJ stood up, brushing off a cd that had fell to the floor. He noticed everyone, then in hurried motions took off the massive pair of headphones on his head, stopped the music, and whipped out a pistol.

"...Nevermind..."

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" One of the bosses asked, eyes narrowing.

"...Sorry, I was looking for the scum of the earth convention? You know, supposed to have the big crime lords and their cronies all in the... oh wait, I'm here nevermind. I came to take you down."

Back in the T-Car, the Titans were too stunned to move, "That idiot's going to get killed!"

The gang leaders and members were having a good laughing at that. One kid with a couple pistols was going to take them down? Ah ya, he was going to be shot up so bad. Put him out of his misery, after all, someone who seriously thought they were going to win in this situation was clearly not right in the head.

"That's enough of that. Guys, girls, gangsters of Jump City, KILL HIM!"

There was a symphony of gunshots inside of the club, hot lead pouring into Curly's body. The Titans watched in horror, they knew they were too late. In fact, Starfire couldn't even watch. When the bullets stopped firing, everyone was expecting to see a bloody, mangled corpse.

But instead, there was simply a chuckle. Curly wasn't even scratched, and now had the full attention of everyone. He smirked, "Keep your eyes on the prize."

And with that, a flash of blindingly bright light emanated from the teen, causing most of the gangsters to scream in pain, covering their eyes. There was the sound of someone laughing insanely, and the click of items fastening to the walls. Raven knew that sound, and suddenly was the first to understand what had happened.

"The clever little..."

(Because We Can, Fatboy Slim- Moulin Rouge Original Soundtrack)

Music blasted from the newly placed speaker/projectors on the wall. However, instead of metal, this music was fast paced techno type music. A very defined beat, the kind of music that made you want to make random movements and call it dancing.

No one in the bar could tell up from down, the sounds and lights mixing to create a pocket of disorientation that even made some of them sick to their stomachs. They looked over, and then they saw something they didn't expect.

Curly was standing in the center of them, dancing. He was swaying and moving with the song, and they'd be darned if he didn't have his eyes closed. Some of them aimed their weapons for him, when suddenly two more stepped out from inside the first one.

Now there were three of them! What on Earth was going on?

Then two more stepped out of each of them, making a three by three square. Each moving in identical ways, each with the same mocking look. They had had quite enough of this. The gangsters started scrambling blindly for a door, a window, any kind of exit. Concussion grenades went off overhead, stun rays filled the air. Gunshots went wild, some hitting other gang members. Small marble like things were strewn across the floor, causing people to trip and fall over each other.

A weak form of knockout gas filled the room. Finally, after what must've been five minutes of this carnage, all of them had tossed down their weapons and were begging to surrender. These few who were still conscious were quickly silenced by more gas. Until finally, there was no one left standing.

Giving it a minute for the knockout gas to deminish, the Titans entered, still stunned (Except for Raven). The projectors stopped broadcasting the illusion, but the music kept playing. Until there, in the center of the dance floor was Curly, dancing his heart out with bodies strewn all around him. With a final flurry of movement, the curly-haired teen struck a dramatic pose, one hand behind his head the other pointing outwards, and the song ended.

"How did you?"

"Keep you're eye..." he began, reaching into his coat and pulling out a small sphere. He tossed it over to the side where it began to hover.

Suddenly another Curly melted into view, "On the prize."

"I've been wanting to give the Me Mk 2 a test run for a while. I thought what better time than now?"

"A hologram? But why didn't the bullets pass through it?"

"Catcher Net Shielding. Things can go into it..." Curly picked up a gun off the ground and shot the hologram. The bullet went in, but stopped before it exited, "But an inertia triggered shield stops it from going out. So, do I make the grade bird boy?"

Glancing around at the piles of unconscious criminals around him, Robin nodded, "Ya, that'll do it. Cyborg, have you called the police?"

"Already on their way. In fact, they should be pulling up any time now. So what do we tell them?"

"That an anonymous informant told us about this meeting. I think the sheer amount of weaponry will be enough evidence. And surely one of these guys will talk."

The first of about half the police cars in Jump City pulled up in front of the club, and officers rushed into the building, quickly cuffing and dragging away the criminals, attending to the ones that needed medical attention. The chief of police himself showed up, looking around the room in awe.

"You've really done it this time Titans. Not only the bosses, you must've caught half the law breakers in Jump City tonight."

"Just make sure that they aren't back on the street for a while." Robin said with a confident smile.

"But how did you find out about this?"

"An insider who wishes to remain anonymous tipped us off in exchange for amnesty. Chief, off the record here."

"Hmmm?"

Robin lead the police chief over to the side, out of earshot, "We know something big is about to happen. We don't know what, but it's going to be serious. Have all you men be on their guard, and keep you're ear real close to the ground. Alright?"

"I understand. Keep me posted, we'll gather what information we can for you. You've earned your funding tonight."

As the Police Chief walked off, the Titans and Curly walked up. Everyone turned to Curly, who was still smirking. After several seconds, he said those infamous words, "So, who's up for pizza?"

"MEAT X-TREME!"

"VEGGIE LOVERS!"

"MUSTARD AND MINT FROSTING!"

"...I'll just have herbal tea."

The sheer amount of noise they made during these exclamations was enough to cause Curly to jump back, tripping over a bottle. Cyborg and Beast Boy were now duking it out, Starfire was trying to stop them (As well as trying to convince them of the gloriousness that was mustard and mint frosting pizza... ew...). Raven was over to the side, watching, until an offhand comment about her favorite drink caused her temper to flare. Soon they were all arguing, light bulbs were exploding, chairs were levitating, bottles were smashing.

Robin walked over, rubbing his temples, "You just had to say it didn't you?"

"For the love of... Is it always like this?"

"When pizza is involved, yes. Oh, you should see it when they're really hungry. We're lucky that the Tower has full damage and fire insurance in our hero contracts."

"Oh really? How much a month?"

"About six hundred-ish."

"And you can afford that!"

Robin sighed and motioned to his team, "It's not a want, it's a need."

"Hmmm... Man, this is going to take too long, I'm hungry!" Curly stood up, and yelled at the top of his lungs, "WE'RE GOING TO K.F.C.!"

This silenced the arguement quite nicely, and Robin nodded. He was impressed, "I need to learn how to do that."

"Be loud, and sound as much like a ticked off parent as possible. It works, trust me."

"I'm not sure if I trust you, but now I know you know what you're doing. I thought you were dead honestly."

"Heh, I've thought the same thing several times. Mmmm... Chicken sounds good about now..."