Raven threw up a wall of black energy and the bullet ran into the wall that suddenly appeared in front of it. The bullet clinked to the floor, not hitting the correct target. Stunned and alarmed, Justin gasped, and dropped his arm holding the gun, so it lay parallel to his body.
"Did you think it was wise of you to try and put a bullet through my skull? Spike the anger of a man who uses anger to his advantage? Deplete all ways of getting the truth about Rhiannon? Or did you not think at all?" Raven said, stepping forward, and Justin stepping back.
"You're not the one I want. You are now only bate. Worthless to me otherwise," said Justin, now gaining a majestic and know-it-all poise.
"Then why draw your gun down?" Raven asked, her gaze moving down the firearm. Justin could only reply with silence.
"If you are going to provide me what I want you to provide, than you will shut your mouth, before it gets you into some serious trouble," Justin said threateningly, his gaze cold.
"Provide you? Wh--" Raven was struck in the temple with the gun, and the pain surged through her body. The headache started to pound, like a bass drum in a marching band. Despite the discomfort, it wouldn't stop her from what she wanted to know.
"What do you want me to provide to you!" Raven yelled. She was only knocked in the head again, but this time right on her cheek bone.
"Ask again, and we will try again the bullet into your skull," he said in a deep, provocative voice.
"What do y--" The barrel of the gun was now at her eyelevel, and she reacted upon instinct. She ducked under the path of the gun and hit his hand upward, and then landed a blow to his chest, slightly throwing him off guard and off balance. While out of sorts from the attack, Raven knocked the gun out of his hand and grabbed it immediately, subconsciously making sure she didn't trigger the gun.
"Now look who's
got the upper hand," Raven said with a victorious and cocky
manor.
"Do you really think that I fear you, even with a
gun?" Justin asked, unbridled by the fact she wanted to call the
shots.
"You should," Raven said, narrowing her eyes.
"I think you—" Raven pulled the trigger, and her eyes never strayed from the target. He seemed to have a controlled composure. Justin cleared his throat, and continued, "You should know that there was only one bullet, because that's all I thought I needed." He smirked, and Raven turned her from side to side, looking for another weapon.
"Looking for this?" he said, pulling out a more sophisticated handgun than the one he used before. Raven's eyes quickly glowed white, and threw a wall of energy at him, knocking him to the ground. She possessed a nearby stool and wailed it onto his body. He contracted his limbs closer to his body in pain, but quickly moved out of the way of another attack. Balancing on both hands and feet, Raven jabbed the three legs of the stool hard onto his back and he grunted in pain, but still kept on trying to work the gun so that he could silence her. Raven dropped the stool, and then possessed the gun that was in his hand. She ripped it from his grip and placed it in her own hand. She walked over to him and cocked the gun.
"Hold on tight, 'cause its going to be one heck of a ride to hell," Raven spat with triumph.
"Oh, shit," said another voice, "now th—that's something you do not see everyday."
"What the hell is he doing here!" Justin asked, surprised.
"Shut up!" Raven roared.
"I guess I came at the…wrong…woah—" the other person said, as if drugged. The figure stumbled into the light.
"Ah, so the man comes to save his whore."
"Psh, are you kidding me? This crappy…thing? Nah."
"What?" Raven said, her jaw hanging slightly open, "what are you planning?" She motioned towards Justin. "And you! You shut the hell up!"
"To bad you weren't this controlling in bed. It would have be—"
"Don't touch me!" She yelled, slapping his hand away.
"Aw, come on." Raven switched the aim of the gun from Justin to him.
"Well then. I guess that's my queue to leave."
"I'm sorry," Raven whispered under her breath, and shot the gun, and hurled the bullet into Slade's chest and heart.
Slade could feel the bullet break through his sternum and puncture his heart. There was no doubt that he was hit, but it was the feeling, or lack of, pain that Slade questioned.
"It was a plan," he gasped, clutching the area of the wound, "why did you shoot me?"
"Because, you had to know," she said, her eyes filling with tears.
"What? What did I have to know through…through this?"
"You will never die, Slade," Raven muttered, her lower limp trembling. As soon as the word rolled off her lips, he could feel the wound close up, and push the bullet back out of the body. The pain seemed to be tenfold with hearing that statement. After all he's been through, that one killed the most. He would never rest in peace.
"Serves you right after what you did to Rhiannon," Justin said, coldly, leaning against the wall.
"What I did to Rhiannon? I gave her life, but I certainly did not bring death upon her," he said with his teeth gritted.
"Bullshit."
"Bullshit?"
"You could never father a child. You have always killed, always murdered. Never given life, just taken it. Therefore, your plea of innocence is bullshit," Justin explained calmly. Slade walked over, his footsteps resonating in the basement. He stood right in front of Justin and crouched down to eye level. His gaze connected with Justin's and turned cold. Slade's intensity caused discomfort, and shifted his position as a result. With his gaze as threatening was it was with one, imagine how powerful it would be with two eyes. Suddenly Slade's hand enclosed Justin's throat, partially closing his airway.
"You want to say that again?" Slade asked, only tightening the grip.
"I—N—Let—Go…," Justin gasped.
"Good," he said, throwing him into the wall. His head now apprehended a bloody mess on the back of his head.
"Is that a challenge?" Justin asked, standing up, wiping blood from his wound on his finger so he could guess the extent of the damage. Even though, it hurt like hell.
"Ther—" Raven started to say, before Slade cut her off.
"Now, Raven. Would I ever pass up challenge? No. And, pass up the chance to permanently rid him from our lives? No. Therefore, I accept your implied challenge," Slade pompously said.
"You were always arrogant," Raven snidely stated.
"I love you too, my dear," Slade responded with a sarcastic gaze. Justin snuck his way over to the little stash of weapons and ammo, and pulled out a rifle. "I can't die."
"I know."
"Your ego is amazing"
"Not as award winning as yours," Justin said standing up with rifle in hand.
"You just don't know when to quit it, do you? Don't know when to stop it with those snide comments, eh?" Slade questioned, stepping closer to his victim
"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
"God…fucking…damn it!" Slade yelled, "What the fuck is that shit supposed to mean. We aren't even related by blood. It doesn't make sense."
"Neither does your little story about Rhiannon."
"You choose to not believe that."
"Just like I can also choose to stall you by doing this?" Justin said swiftly pointing the barrel at Slade and pulled the trigger. At that same moment, a body slammed into Justin, swaying the passage of the bullet, clipping Raven on the arm. She screamed in pain and clutched her wound, feeling the warm blood seep from the freshly opened hole. Slade went over to Raven's side, and whispered something into her ear.
"You what!" Raven cried.
"See if he's back at the hideout, now!" Slade ordered. Raven nodded angrily and dashed out of the room. Slade immediately went over to the bodies and picked the first one up.
"Nightwing?" he asked himself, in shock that he was mobile.
"You needed my help," he said, almost at a whisper.
"I can't die. Get out of here," Slade warned.
"You--"
"Do you really want another round of what you deserve?"
"Woah, what does he deserve?" Justin asked, interested in what he had to say next
-xXx
Raven ran out of the building and collapsed on the grassy ground. Her wound was keeping her in a great deal of pain, and she tried to use some of her healing ability on it, and it stopped the bleeding, and started the healing process. Though, the pain still remained. Far from selfish, she got up from her position and headed towards the street, walking in the direction of the house.
"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" she wailed out into the open. A large black raven came up behind her and swooped down in front of her, engulfing her in blackness. The feeling caught her breathless as she felt her body being pulled in all directions. The feeling stopped and the darkness faded away, and Slade's hideout appeared in her view.
"Richard!" she yelled, "Richard…Richard…Nightwing!" She was answered with silence.
-xXx
"You want to know who killed Rhiannon?" Slade yelled, throwing Justin up against a wall, "Nightwing did!"
"Bullshit," he hoarsely objected.
"Look into his eyes, bastard…they reek the essence of guilt. But, look on the bright side. If it wasn't for him, you would have never met her. On the contrary, he killed her too."
"You killed her from the moment you kissed Raven's lips, and seduced her! You conceived her, not I!" Nightwing yelled in his defense.
"Fathering a child is no crime, it's life. Kidnapping and destroying a family, is though," Slade said, his voice still elevated.
"I was doing it for the child's best interest! Her father…the one man her mother swears to destroy! A setup for disaster!"
"Your mind is still immature, even after all of these year--"
"So Nightwing really killed her, eh?" Justin said, feeling Slade's grip loosen.
"He assisted in it, I guess. Unintentionally I assume. But I can't be sure," Slade spat sarcastically.
"You really know how to rub someone the wrong way, don't you?" Nightwing glared.
"It pays the bills, so I can't complain," he shrugged, letting go of the grip on Justin.
"Today I woke up and told myself I was going to seek revenge on Rhiannon's killer. Little did I know, that it was an ally of the city…."
"I didn't murder her!"
"Liar!" Slade hissed, "and a disgrace to the city. However--"
"He should be punished, just like all the other criminals who commit murder in Jump City," Justin mused.
"--I will not allow you to hurt him. Number one, that is my job; and number two is because Kori would be a stick up my ass until the day she dies. Therefore," Slade said pulling out a long, sharp sword, "You will not be able to lay a hand on him."
"As the night goes on, the excitement level just keeps on rising! I love it! Slade, defending the murderer of Rhiannon? Ha! I can't believe this, I really can't!" Justin gasped, with a few chuckles.
"Just for kicks, how do you know my daughter?" Slade asked.
"I was her boyfriend, and we had big plans for the future, with all do respect of course. She was all any guy could ha--"
"What did you do with her?" Slade interrupted.
"What do you mean? I went I dates with her, of course. We went to amusement parks, and the shore--"
"No, no…you and I both know what I mean. What did you do with her?"
"Nothing, sexual if that's what you are implying," Justin said, with an awry look.
"You are lying."
"Now how did you come to that conclusion?" Slade stepped closer to Justin and got face to face with him.
"Because in her journal it said that the tips of your ears turn red when you lie, and boy they are red. I could go get a shot gun, and chase you down like they do in the movies. But instead…." Slade jammed the blade into Justin, crunching bone and puncturing organs and tissue. Blood seeped from the open wound, and Justin gasped for air, realizing that the end was near. With that thought he ….
-xXx
Raven kept on calling her dear friend's name, only to do it in vein. There was no body answering…he wasn't here.
"Where could he have gone? If he was hurt so badly…." All of a sudden, her heart felt as if a lead weight dropped it down to the floor, and the burden humbled her a great deal. Feeling so empty, lost, and depressed, she could not summon her power to transport her back to the house, so she decided to walk. She needed some time to think anyways. The cool air whistled through the city, and Raven saw a person run to the doorsteps of his home, fumbling quickly in his pocket for keys to embrace the warmth of his hearth. Raven smirked, as she entered memory lane in her mind, remembering all the family, love, and friendship she experienced.
Raven turned the corner, and neared the house were Slade and her resided. Warm tears filled her eyes, as she stared at the dark home.
"Are you new around here?" a man's voice asked.
"I used to live here a long time ago. Just revisiting for old time's sake, I suppose," she said, wiping her face of the tears.
"Oh. Welcome back, then," he said cheerfully, "I grew up here. This neighborhood was always pleasant. Except for that one house. The dark one, over there on the hill. It's been abandoned for years, at least that's what my mother told me."
"Is it haunted?" Raven asked, interested in hearing what happened to the house after she left the city.
"Who knows?" he shrugged, "no one goes in, and no one comes out. I know that every year when my family comes to visit my parents, the children here are always daring one another to go in. Even though they've posted numerous signs stating that there is to be to trespassing."
"So someone still owns it?"
"Possibly. Maybe he or she is still around, or maybe the house is in his or her will. Like I said, who knows?"
"So what are you doing out so late, anyways?"
"I like the cold fresh air. I've always liked it, ever since I was a child. Ha, when the Teen Titans were still around. I wonder what happened to them. I told stories to my kids when they were younger about the heroes. Boy, would they're eyes sparkle. Especially when I told them about the time I saw Beast Boy," he explained lovingly.
"What was the story? I would like to hear!" Raven said, cheerfully, perking up.
"Well, I was about five or so when the doorbell rang. And I was right behind my mother when she answered it, and to our surprise it was Beast Boy. I don't remember much, but my mother said that he was on a mission, looking for someone. And for a long while after seeing Beast Boy in action for those split few seconds, at my doorstep, he became my favorite Titan. And then my mother told me about some conspiracy that was going on with Raven. I was to young to understand, but I knew it was bad," he said, sounding joyous to tell his childhood remembrances of the Titans.
"Speaking of Raven, she was my favorite. Until those rumors started. I guess by then, I was growing out of superhero loving, and moving on into the real world," Raven shrugged.
"Do you believe the conspiracy?" he asked suddenly.
"I believe that it is definitely possible," she answered with a smile, "who knows…they could be very alike. I wonder where they are now…."
"Me too. Well, listen. It was nice talking to you, and have a good night. Welcome back to good old Jump City, okay?" he said, turning around walking away.
"Thanks, and it was nice talking to you too." A large grin appeared on her face. To hear a man talk about the Teen Titans like that was more that gratifying, and it really made her feel that she had really done something good, when everything seemed so bad.
