Yards away on the rusted frigate…
Starfire floats up to gather a better view of the chaotic fight.
She spots Fraust frozen. Miist frozen--…..in pieces. Acyd entangled in a furious bout with Robin and Terra. Cyborg stumbling one-armed to his feet and Beast Boy clamoring out of the water.
"… .. …," Starfire blinks. "Where is our friend, Static—"
FWOOOOOSH Static is flung through the air, ricocheting off against the Tamaranian's shoulder. WHAP! "OOOF!" He goes plunging across the top hull of the vessel. Starfire is unaffected, until—
"YOU! Hold it right there!"
Starfire twirls around, her alien eyebrows raised. She widens her eyes.
Across from her floats Flaar in all his seething fury. His muscles are sheen with sweat as he writhes in a petite bottle of hatred in mid-air. A pair of green eyes narrows as he raises two glowing fists up at the princess. "My team isn't about to get thrashed by a bunch of uptight losers like you! This ends NOW!"
Starfire responds with a trademark frown: "You are not a noble warrior who attacks from the shadows! This affair over the Xenothium is not yours to invade upon!" She aims a pair of starbolt-charged wrists…
"It's not the Xenothium that matters," he also aims glowing wrists. "Neither do you—"
"If you are so brave, then perform the first move attack, Chlorbag!"
"You first, you skanky---"
FL-FLASH!
Both floating combatants gasp. Touched. A pulsing between them.. ….like a timed, emerald charge has surged between them. Starfire's jaw drops, and Flaar seems no less shocked. But Starfire squints her eyes and sees—closely, for the first time—his lithe, warrior body. His amber skin. The green eyes. The red braids. The two splotches against his forehead where eyebrows had been butchered away. Eyebrows… …
"X'Hal… …," Starfire exhales with a breath she forgets she has. ".. ….wh-who are you?"
"… … …," Flaar blinks confusedly at her for a few seconds. But before he can respond---
FWOOOOSH!-CLANGGG! A metal pylon sails into Starfire's body and plunges her seaward. "AACK!"
A climbing, soggy Beast Boy looks up only to be pummeled with Starfire's ragdoll form at the last second. THWUMP! Both go plunging into the salt water. SPLOOSH!
Flaar glances down, hyperventilating for some sudden reason. He glances at his wrists… ..pulsing green with heat. He gulps. He looks up at the distant, hovering Polaar.
"… … …," the gray-haired maiden calmly has her hand outstretched, discarding the pylon from long distance. She adjusts her flailing cape in the wind—
"'EY! HEY YOU!"
"… .. …?" She boredly looks down.
Static is hobbling up to his feet, clutching his side. He squints up at her, teeth gritting. "Nobody smacks Starfire like that and hovers away with it!"
"Please….," Polaar drones. "You were a waste of Flaar's time. Do not be a waste of mine."
ZZZZT! Static raises a pair of sparkling fists. "Let's see if my fists here give half as much a flying whoop about you than I do!"
"… … ..very well then," the metal-specked girl aims her steel-band'd wrists down at him. "Try me."
"Here comes a triple-layered frosted 'try' with a cherry on top, ya dry-battery-bitch!" ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZTTT-TTTT-TTT!.!.!.! Static fountains forth a bright-blue web of dancing electricity towards the magnetic maiden.
"Nnnnngh!" She struggles, hovering shakily upwards and doing her awkward best to absorb the fields of relentless, electrical punishment.
Static hovers up on a floating sea anchor and levitates towards her, adding thicker and thicker punishment like a Sith Lord. "NOW WHO'S IN WHOSE ELECTROMAGNETIC HOOD, HUH?.?.?"
FLAAAAAAAAASH!
-T-T-T-T-T-T-
Meanwhile….
Deep within the depths of the Soggy Bottom….
Thin cracks to the outside world cast scattered sunlight across the shadowy cabins of the rusted frigate.
A vibrating sensation…an echo.. …then footsteps—
THWOOOSH! Red X leaps out of a hallway, lands two feet onto the opposite hand railings of a flight of stairs, and athletically slides down before leaping off at the end, flipping, and landing on the floor in a crouch.
"… … …Mmm….. …Cake walk.. …."
He stands up, tosses a length of his cape behind him, and goes into a full sprint down the open space of the cabin. He reaches a valved door that's tightly shut. CHIIING! He produces a red star in his hand and slices clean through the stalk of the valve. SLIIIINK! He then kicks the door clear off its hinges. CL-CLANG! He marches through into an even larger chamber. Dim, flickering electric lights glint off the pale contours of his skull-like mask.
He stands at one end of the room. He looks left…then right. Then echoes forth in an electronic sarcasm: "Hellllllllllo? Xenothiummmmmm?"
Crickets.. ….
"Heh.. …And I thought it was lame enough upstairs where the Teen Tragics are doing exercise… …."
He shuffles forward with the agile sneak-feet of a crook. His masked face twists and pivots all around, eyeing every contour of the place. He turns around once, and flexes his impatient fingers.
"I know you're around here somewhere. Come to dadddddddy.. …. …I didn't come all this way just to—"
He freezes.
"… … …"
He glances slowly, ever so slowly behind his back.
"…. … …"
A breath. He shrugs his caped shoulders.
"Heh.. ….Figures. I've been sneaking into far too many Omega Level Security Hovels." He chuckles electronically and shuffles forward once more. "Oh, how I miss the old days---"
FWOOOOSH-SMACK! A wooden sword slams across his rattling skull.
"DAMMIT!" He falls back on his ungraceful butt. WHUMP "I KN-KNEW IT."
F-FWOOOSH! I materialize in a descending column of smoke ahead of him.
How do you like it, Skeletor?
Bare-eyed, I take a breath, twirl Myrkblade, and cover it from hilt-to-tip in vicious serration. SLASH-SLASH-SLASH! I charge him, swinging wildly.
He ducks, swipes at my feet with his leg, makes me stumble, reverse-somersaults, and hops up to his feet with a red star held in one hand. "Heh, look at you kid. If I knew better, I'd say you almost look pissed—"
WHACK! A blurred karate kick uppercuts him, forming a crack in his masked skull-chin. Crkkk!
"Augh!" He stumbles back—
SLIIINK! SLIIINK! I graze both of his shoulders with vicious sword jabs and spin a snarling three-sixty with the length of Myrkblade fully stretched out—THWACKKK!
The baseball blow sends him spinning three times as myself.
I skid to a stand-still, take a fuming breath, and rush towards him.
He steadies himself at the last second, breathlessly lunges both hands forward, and opens portals in his gloved palms—"HAAA!" SP-SPLORCH!
Holy snot! I grimace and try to skid to a stop—
SPLUT! A red puddle of energy ribbons circle around me. My arms and sword are bound to my body, and I wheeze desperately for breath.
"You're fast, kid…" Chiiing! He produces two razor-sharp X's. "Let's see how fast you ascend to that big, Golden Smokestack in the Sky…." That said: Thwoooosh!—Thwp-Thwp-Thwp-Thwp! He throws the two, spinning projectiles at my bound position.
The spinning red-X's twirl in the reflection of my two bulbous eyes.. ….until the very same optics froth forth with black murk. I hold my breath, concentrate, and—
SPLORRRRRCH! The two stars rip straight through the crimson binding.
FWOOOOSH! I solidify several feet away from a last-second teleport. Crouching, panting, I look over my shoulder.
SPLORCH! The two stars rip out the other side of the redness, twirl about, and sail straight at me like homing devices.
I gulp. Chun-Li Almighty…. ..
"Looks like my two little friends want to play, kid. Be a good rookie and humor them, huh?"
I gnash my teeth, face forward ahead of me, and charge into action—Fwooosh!-Fwoosh!-Fwoosh!-Fwoosh! I smoke my way around the length of the room.
SW-SW-SW-SW-SWISSSSSH! The slicing red stars eat at my feet. Inching closer and closer with each lightning-fast acceleration…
I hold my breath. I perform a smoking leap. I make contact with the rusted wall and literally run sideways along the circumference of the dark cabin. Moving as fast as the dark fabric of the Spectrum can afford me.
FW-FW-FW-FW-FWOOOOSH!
The spinning stars heatedly close in on me. Their spinning X-edges eat sparkingly into the rusted wall behind my heels. Crkkk-kkk-kkkkttt!
I sweat. I pant. I dart my smoking head to the side—and nearly bite my tongue—
Screw it.
FWOOOSH! I leap out into the naked air and jab Myrkblade straight up—
CLANK! The blade's tip sticks into the ceiling. I dangle from the hilt.
SWISSSSSSSSSSH! The stars close in.
Hanging by one hand, I twist my thin body at an impossible, contorted angle just in time for---
SWOOOOSH! The blades skim past me in dual insanity.
I dangle loosely, panting….exhaling with relief----
"Heh heh heh!"
"…. .. ….?" What is he laughing about now---….oh snap.
SWOOOOOOSH-SWISH-SWISH-SWISSSSH! The boomeranging red-X's twirl, come about, and spin straight towards me once more.
I bite my lip, yank my lower body up, and just as the spinning stars are about to kiss my face—
CRKKK! Myrkblade pops free from the ceiling with a smokey burst.
FWOOOOOOSH! In slow motion I feel myself flipping down from the ceiling in a head-over-heels twirl. Once upside down, I contort my body once more like a dying swan and—
TH-THWISSSSSH! Again the two stars barely miss me.
FWUMP! I land in a full-bodied squat along the ground, drenched with sweat and trembles… ..
CL-CLUNK! The two stars embed into the ground on either side of the caped rogue's calmly placed feet. Clap-Clap-Clap-Clap. He applauds with gloved hands and gives me a thumb's up: "Nice circus act, rookie," He waves me off flippantly as he turns and runs towards a tall metal ladder leading towards an escape hatch. "Now be a good monkey and go clean the invisible elephant cage, cuz da X has got to go."
I sneer.
Not so fast you.. …you….
Rrrrrrgh-YOU!
FWOOOOOOSH! I'm explosively blurring towards him from way across the cabin. I must be going far faster than he imagines I'm capable of, for he takes no notice of me as I reach the base of the ladder and shoot a smoking hand up towards—
GRIP!
"GRRRRRK!" He twitches and winces all over.
I blink. For I have accidentally clutched a palm-full of his black-suited crotch.
"… … …" No matter…
With a mute grunt, I yank straight down.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! Red X's chin ricochets down a full flight of metal ladder rungs as he plummets—
--and collapses into my arms. No sooner, I fall back and kick my nimble legs up. Rrrrgh!
FWOOOOOSH! I launch him. He goes flailing back across the cabin and slams straight into one of the flickering light fixtures. CRASSSSH! Zzzzzzt! Glass and sparks fly. The lights go out. And he falls limply into a pocket of pure darkness.
I jump to my feet.
I pant… …pant….pant….
Staring.
… … …
CHIIING! CH-CHIIIING! Two menacing, glowing-red blades appear in the pitch black of the cabin's far side.
I sweatdrop….trembling helplessly—
One step. Two steps. He marches towards me with his pale mask tilted menacingly forward. "Okay, bucko. THAT… …was the invitation to dance with the devil." TH-THWOOOOSH! He twirls his serrated scarlets into a deadly, 'praying-mantis' pose. Standing on one boot. "You're a quiet one. Wanna at least tell me your name before I silence you forever? I like to carve the initials of my victims in their buttcheeks after I've slaughtered them."
"… … …" I gulp. Regardless, I twirl Myrkblade—Thwish-Thwish—And hold it at ready. Facing against him.
This may be it….
My first real 'duel' for the Titan's sake….
Couldn't have picked a worse nemesis….
Oy, Noir…
Keep it together, Keep it together…
His eyeslits narrow, even paler than his 'skull'. "I don't know whether you're brave.. …or stupid." He tilts his mask to the side. "That black stuff.. …all of it comin' out of you.. …." He pauses. "… …there's something I can't quite put my finger on. Like… …Like it's my own suit when I'm fully juiced up."
I blink blackly at him.
The Hell is Stupid Head talking about---?
ZAAAAAAA-AAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAAAP!.!.!.! A bright, red beam from out of nowhere sails in and practically fries me.
AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!
I wince with a mute scream. I writhe all over. My insides are on my fire. My nerves--….Neurons exploding into each other in a bloodcurdling wail---
THWUMP! I fall to the ground, smoking—but not from the Spectrum.
"… .. …," Red X scratches his 'head' with one of his blades. "… … …Huh.. …."
"Eh hehheheheheh…. …Don't be surprised, my bad boy," a hissing voice cackles from the shadows. A dim light brightens and reveals Professor Chang walking up with a brightly-glowing laser rifle in his grasp. "This has been a.. … ..'surprise' occasion from the start. But rest assured, this trap was not sprung for that measly Titan who lies dormant before you.. …."
"Professor Chang… …," X glances over at him and hides his blades away in the folds of his cape. He performs a mock salute. "I could have sworn that the dorsal-fin business made your kind extinct."
"Jocular to the last…," Chang grins a fishy grin. "I knew this day would come. Ehehehehe….the Prodigal Son returns.. …"
"Dramatics aside, gramps…," X shrugs. "I'm here for one reason—No. Make it two."
"Oh? Is that so?"
CHIIIING! A fan of red daggers glow in the dusty shadows of the frigate. X's eyeslits narrow. "…. …we've got a lot to talk about."
