Mucha Lucha, Mucha Lucha
Lots of fights, Lots of fights (Much Fight)
"You are a complete ass. You know I'm not going to allow you to go through with this petty spat of yours."
"He had it coming Jinx. And I will do as I please. This is in my realm of decision. Check the book if you wish. I will not be insulted in my own home. Now go wash up and get dressed." Stone told Jinx.
"But I'm comfortable." Jinx complained and smuggled closer to Stone. His arms and hands had finally warmed up enough to be comfortable against her gray skin.
"Five more minutes. I have to straighten out some paper work and send a messenger to Sanchez about our rematch."
"But it's Sunday."
"This is war woman, it stops for no one. Besides you need to procure some artillery pieces for me as well as anti air weapons. I must prepare invasion plans for moving into the South, smashing Sanchez in our rematch and begin training myself in my old style of fighting. It will be odd not being able to stab that maggot to death."
"Victor."
"What have I told you about that name?" Stone snapped. His voice was rough but his body tensed. Jinx had noticed that Stone had the same reaction every time without fail. What that meant, Jinx wasn't sure but at least it stung Stone enough to acknowledge that distant part of his past.
"You told me not to call you that but really Victor, we're alone with no one to disturb us." Jinx cooed as she ran her hand up and down the inside of Stone's thigh. Stone shuddered at the contact.
"We have better things to do with our time." Stone made to sit up but Jinx grabbed him by his impressive length earning a hiss of satisfaction.
"But this is far more pleasurable." Jinx murmured, brushing her lips against his.
Stone conceded and lay back down. If Jinx was in a frisky mood she was going to have to do the work.
Jinx smiled to herself. Once again she had gotten her way. It was getting easier as time passed and even if she was going to be the one doing most of the work, she liked it on top. It allowed her to set a more comfortable pace.
"Admit it; you'd rather stay here in bed with me." Jinx said as she ran her hand up and down his length ever so lightly. Stone gritted his teeth to suppress a moan that would betray him.
"One condition." Stone muttered between kisses.
"Hmm?"
"You can't interfere with the fight."
Jinx stopped her ministrations and gave Stone a hard dirty look. "You know that I'll never agree to that."
"Then no sex for you until after the fight." And just like that Stone sat up, unceremoniously dumping Jinx off of his chest and got out of bed.
Jinx lay there dazed, watching Stone leave to take a shower. Women were the ones suppose to be able to go without sex, not men. She wasn't going to cave to his insane demand but her hormones were in high gear. Jinx just hoped that she could stratify herself well enough to keep her sanity while she thought up of a way to stop this ridiculous fight.
Stone took a very cold shower. It would be tough not having Jinx's "care" but it wasn't impossible. He was a very disciplined man and would just have to live without the sex. Besides, he knew that she was carrying his heir. He had noticed the increase in her food intake, her slight increase in body temperature, and mood swings. With Jinx pregnant, the sex would have had to stop anyway.
The complications that woman had brought into his life. Additional security, body guards to shadow her on the surface, the redecorations of all his rooms, her nagging for things, and her being pregnant. The last one was the most irritating thing about her. Stone should have seen it coming though. Not once did they ever use any sort of contraceptive and they were normally at it at least once a day. Stone wasn't entirely sure that Jinx knew how to properly douche herself. Having been each other's first partners Stone was not entirely just how much Jinx knew about the business end of sex.
Too late to wonder about that now. In about 7 months Stone would be a father. That thought a lone scared him more then anything else. He, Lord General Stone, the commander of House Tir'eir's armies and ruler of over half of the Hells was more intimidated by the life he had created and that would be entirely dependent on him for support. It would be easy enough to leave Jinx and an army of nannies to take care of the child but Stone wasn't going to let that happen. He had been without a father for most of his childhood; he wasn't going to let his child have that same experience.
If Stone was going to be there for his child then he really wouldn't have as much free time to conquer the rest of the Hells. He would have roughly a solid 6 month window to conquer what had taken him 11 years. The good news was that the South and East weren't allied. That would force a near stalemate. Stone's victory was assured but how long it would take was another issue. The bad news was that the main army was held up in the jungles of the East making progress slow. The vast desert of the South had stopped the advance completely. Apart from Lord Sanchez, there weren't any other lords of enough power to pose a problem on this side of the desert. Once Sanchez was crushed, the lesser lords should surrender their lands extending the greater empire to the deserts edge. From there it was over a hundred miles of sand to the last cluster of Southern kingdoms. Truly Stone owned most of the important parts of the Hells but only complete domination would allow for a smooth crowning of Raven as the first female ruler of the Hells.
Raven, there was another problem to be dealt with. Seeing her again had been a definite mistake. Cyborg was nagging him again from somewhere deep in his mind. Muttering about her perfect light grey complexion, silky purple hair, bright purple eyes, long smooth legs, shapely ass, and firm bust. Jinx could be described the same except with pink hair and eyes, Stone reminded Cyborg.
Cyborg rebuked Stone in pointing out the differences in personalities. Stone had broken Jinx to an extent. While Jinx had some fight in her she was more subtle in how she got her way with him. Raven was still strong and defiant. Which is while she would make a perfect queen to his king. The exact reason that Jinx was just a consort and not the official wife and lady of Lord Stone.
Stone slammed his mind shut to Cyborg's rants. On occasion that old relic would get a word through. Jinx didn't help with all her Victor mush. Jinx. Jinx and her luscious willing body. Jinx with her luscious sexy body hyped up on hormones. The next eight weeks were going to be hell.
"Just why did you have to open your mouth? I can't believe you would embarrass me like that, Dick. I was on business with the leader of the HIVE, this sectors main ally. Things wouldn't be nearly as peaceful as they are now if it wasn't for the HIVE's help in keeping the peace." Kori lectured Dick.
It was still Saturday night and they were back in their room, Kori pacing in her uniform and Dick sitting on the bed.
"I wasn't going to let the tin can get away with insults like that. He's given me nothing but shit since we've met."
"Just let it go Dick. He's down there and we're up here. It's not likely that he'll come up often and I just won't bring you along if he requests an audience."
"Over my dead body you aren't."
Kori stopped, turned and blinked at her husband in surprise. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not letting you alone with that bastard. Who knows what a soulless monster like him will do."
"Richard, I can't stop doing my job and you obviously can't behave yourself when you are around him. Besides, if he did anything to me it would mean war between the HIVE and the occupation forces. Since Jinx is in charge most of time I'm sure he wouldn't risk her."
"I wouldn't put it past him."
"Richard that is quite enough!" Kori snapped and immediately regretted snapping at her husband.
Dick was taken aback for a moment but only became more pissed off then he already was. "Kori, he isn't the same person we knew back then. He's become evil and you're just too naïve to see it."
"Richard, he can't be all that bad if Jinx is with him. He even showed us his defences as a gesture of good will."
"Kori it's all a rouse and Jinx was a member of the HIVE and our enemy when we were Titans."
"Well people can change."
"THAT'S MY POINT!" Dick shouted.
Kori took a step back. Dick had never shouted at her before. They had argued but he had never raised his voice at her.
"Dick, calm down."
"Not until you get it through your head that Stone is not Cyborg!" With that Dick stormed out of their bed room.
Kori sank to the floor feeling completely numb. After some time Kori managed to make it to the bed and fell asleep wondering how she was going to fix things with Dick.
Raven found Nightwing on the couch the next morning. Raven had heard some shouting coming from Starfire and his room last night. Raven had figured it was a marital spat over the impending fight. When Nightwing had told her it was over whether or not Stone was an evil bastard Raven couldn't help but hit Nightwing up side the head.
"What was that for?" Nightwing whined.
"For being a perfect example of a stupid male. I swear fighting over Stone's ethical standing is like arguing over whether or not Bush is the missing link. Of course Stone is evil; he's literally an evil overlord in Hell. Now say you are sorry to Starfire before she goes off to work."
"I guess I really should. She must be feeling terrible."
"Don't you?"
"Of course I do. I shouted at her last night over something so stupid."
Raven watched Nightwing disappear down the hall way. Star and he were a very good couple. Kori was smart enough not to bring home her work and Nightwing was smart enough to not tempt himself into "righteous" action by asking about Kori's work.
Raven just wished she could find herself someone who would be willing to accept her dark heritage and not ask too many questions. In the back of her mind Stone popped up. He was the perfect candidate. He knew of her past and not only accept it but was also pushing towards making her ruler of the Hells. He had grown up with her and while she could now feel emotions she was still fairly emotionless most of the time. Stone would know how to deal with her, and while there would be a period of getting used to each other that time would be so much less then dealing with a new person. Best of all Jinx said she would share him with her.
Raven snapped herself out of her train of thought. Jinx was unhinged and babbling. Still part of Raven wanted to ask Jinx if that offer was genuine. If it was, what would Raven do next? Dating wasn't something she had any experience with and somehow Raven knew the relationship would be largely long distance, or rather interplanar. Stone seemed to spend most of his time below with Jinx visiting on the weekends. Long distance relationships really didn't appeal to Raven, relationships in general didn't appeal to her, but Raven had heard of how long distance relationships often failed. The plus side was that it wouldn't be building up a relationship from scratch. Cyborg knew Raven and they had had a little romantic tussle in their youth. Cyborg and Stone had taken all of her firsts between the two personas. To top it all off, the more Raven thought about the more the small voice in the back of head screamed at her to go for it. However there was always the Jinx factor. A pregnant Jinx at that. Obviously a kid was going to join the equation soon so if Raven as going to pursue this unusual relationship Raven would have to do so quickly. But first, Raven had to make sure Jinx really was giving her consensus.
Raven stopped and shook her head. More 10 minutes ago she was going on about how this was a foolish idea. Now she was worrying over whether or not Jinx was pulling her leg. That voice in the back of her head must be a smooth talker.
"You should have surrendered Lord Sanchez." Stone didn't give the said lord time to reply as he looped Lord Sanchez's head off in a single swing. Soon after fighting had stopped and the slaughter began. As a rule if a soldier stopped fighting or dropped their weapons and ran, he was left alone. Those that still held their weapons and ran were considered fair game. Lord Sanchez must have failed to point this piece of battle field law to his men as the vast majority fled, arms and all. All told, some 3,000 bodies were stripped of armor and weapons and buried. That was not counting the dead from the fight itself. Sanchez's lands were thoroughly crippled and threat of an uprising was slim, even though it was on the fringe of the empire.
Officially House Tir'eir and there for Tir'eir, controlled the North, the West, half the South and most importantly the Central Plains. The plains were in the deepest part of the Hells and formed the border to the unconquered East. Also located there was the imperial city and in it the unoccupied Blood Throne. Stone had held the city for half a decade now; it was a very important military and economic target as well as a symbolic one.
There Stone had built up quite a garrison there as well as in the Northern fortress. A number of hand selected governors gave Stone quite some backing should a civil war ever erupt. The odds of that were slim as Maria was no fool but Stone had to be prepared. Being prepared was something that had saved his life on many occasions. Jinx, however had not been something that he had planned. It just happened and now there was a baby to think of as well. A nursery would have to be added to the fortress, his house in the imperial capital and to his quarters in Tir'eir's fortress.
Pink or blue, that was the question. What if Jinx had twins? The order of power was already going to be tested when this child came of age. Even now things were chaotic. Tir'eir was still the technical ruler of all that Stone had forged together but Stone held control of the military might and therefore the real power. However Maria was the heir apparent pending an official declaration. Tir'eir was getting older, even by demonic standards, and when he died, in about four to five thousand years, there would be problems. Seeing as Stone had long ago traded away his soul for immortality, he would be around to see the day his master died. By that point the Hells would be under Stone's control but those that picked Maria's side would cause problems. Civil war will break out and could last years if Maria manages to the mountainous North her father's traditional homeland. Stone would win in the end; he would have more manpower and resources. The splintered chaos of the earlier years had allowed Stone to solidify his control of the North and strike out to the rest of the Hells.
A child of his would have claim to the realm. If Raven took the throne her children should be the direct line and thus in 1st place to take over. That would cause problems. Maria's children would have claim the title of the North, something Stone was willing to concede to keep the peace. Seeing as he wasn't going to die from age, that in itself caused succession problems. He would be willing to step down but his children would die due to age unless he somehow passed on his immortality gene.
Of course there were Jinx's genes to take into account. Though he had never told her, it was clear to him that Jinx and Raven had a lot in common. Both were half breed, born of women but with the seed of the spawn of the Hells. Jinx's father wasn't Trigon, her powers were more of a thrown back, half expressed gene. After all "causing bad luck" didn't hold a candle to Raven's Dark Energy. Causing a building to fall over wasn't as impressive as making said building break into pieces that fly. In the end Stone would have a child with a quarter demonic blood and a quarter human blood. Stone wasn't even sure, with his soulless status, if he counted genetically as human. He knew he was far more machine then humanity but that was physically. He was still all human where it counted the most.
He should tell Jinx that he knew she was pregnant and that he wasn't sure just how their child would turn out. Maybe he could distract her by quickly pointing that she would have complete control over decorating all three nurseries. It wasn't likely to work but it was worth a try after all.
"My lord?"
Stone turned his attention to the soldier addressing him.
"We've set camp, my lord. Your tent is pitched and ready for you my lord."
Stone nodded the soldier away and looked around to get his bearings. The decapitated body of the former Lord Sanchez lay at his feet. Stone couldn't believe he had spaced out in the middle of a battle field. The battle may have been over but Stone should never have let his guard down in such an open place. Jinx and what she carried in her womb were proving to be very powerful distractions. If this kept up his days of personally campaigning and being on the front lines might be limited. However for now his goals for the South were met and in seven weeks Cyborg had a date with Robin.
"Kori?" Nightwing poked his head into his room. Still on the bed was his wife's sleeping form. Stepping inside and looking at the clock Dick saw it was past 8:30 in the morning. Kori was normally off to work by 7:45 so Dick knew something was up.
"Kori, you awake?" Dick sat down on the edge of the bed.
Kori stirred when her name was called but she really didn't want to talk to Dick right now. When Dick sat down next to her Kori rolled over so her back was facing him.
"Kori I know you're awake but I understand if you don't want to talk to me. I said some hurtful things to you last night. I didn't mean to hurt you and I didn't mean to say those things to you. I was angry at Stone and I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that. I'm sorry and I'll do my best to make it up to you."
Silence followed and after a few minutes Dick made to get up. He was stopped by Kori wrapping her arms around his waist.
"It was lonely and cold last night without you." Kori murmured as she pulled her husband down to the bed.
"So I've forgiven?"
Kori clung to Dick firmly. "You're forgiven."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that. You may have said some harsh things to me but I know you didn't mean it. In the future I might say some things to you I'll regret but we love each other. That's what's important. As long as you love me I'll forgive you because I love you in return." Kori explained.
"I'll never stop loving you Kori."
"Prove it." Kori cooed as she nibbled on Dick's ear.
"Don't you have to work today?"
"It's Sunday."
"In that case…"
"Things have really changed since the last time I was here." Jinx pointed out as Raven gave her guest a quick tour of the Titan Tower.
Raven turned and looked at Jinx inquisitively.
"Remember, oh it must be going on 14 years or so now, the HIVE kicked you out of here for like a day. You took back the Tower of course but we made you fight for it." Jinx refreshed Raven's memory.
"I remember now. That was the last time we really fought as groups. You went really deep underground after that defeat." Raven recalled.
"Well the boys really didn't like that fact they got beat but it was five on three. Not really fair odds, wouldn't you say?"
"All is fair in love and war." Raven quoted.
"Or so they say." A loud rumble came from Jinx's stomach stopping the conversation for a moment. "I guess I'm hungrier then I thought I was." Jinx blushed.
"You should have told me, we could have done the tour after dinner. I'll go get Starfire and tell her we're having dinner."
"Ok, I guess I'll just sit myself down at the table then." Jinx found the dining room/kitchen easy enough. After all it was just behind the couches of the large and spacious living room.
Dinner was pleasant except for the beginning. Upon seeing who was dining with them Nightwing out right refused to sit down at the same table and left the room immediately. Starfire stayed deciding that since Dick hadn't been as rude as he could have been, she would let this go. Stone and his associates were a very touchy subject for Dick. Apart from that hiccup Raven and Starfire found it hard to believe that this woman was once one of their many enemies. Whatever circumstances that had led to Jinx's life of crime were regrettable because she was a truly light and happy personality.
"Jinx I don't mean to pry, but just how did you become… involved with Stone?" Star asked. The ladies had done the dance of mindless chit chat for an hour and a half before Star broke and stopped beating about the bush.
"I'll share if you tell me just how you managed to grab the boy wonder. I mean, and don't take this the wrong way, you're not human and back in the day there was a lot of street talk about Robin. He was in soooo many magazines." Jinx told Starfire.
"That sounds fair."
"Then it's a deal Starfire."
"Call me Kori."
"Only if you call me Jenny."
"Deal."
"Okay, I suppose I should start since you asked first. After Victor had taken over the HIVE he put me in charge. He would check in on me from time to time and over the years we just clicked. Finally, about three months ago we started sleeping together. Victor was nice enough to take me below and made me his consort. Now your turn." Jenny practically squealed. She had always been curious as to how an alien had captured the once most eligible bachelor of the world.
"Richard found me and recruited me into the Teen Titans. He helped me with my language skills and helped get me assimilated to the planet. I guess after a while we just spent time in each other company because we liked to. Eventually we just ended up dating"
"After sneaking around for several months." Raven cut in.
"and we've been together ever since. I guess we're really like you and… Victor. Work relationship turned romantic." Kori finished giving Raven a dirty look. Raven stuck her tongue at Kori in retaliation.
"Can I ask what a consort is exactly?" Kori inquired to put a stop to the childish insults that Raven and herself had been trading.
"It's a bit complicated. Down there I'm only his consort as long as Victor is single. Right now since I'm his only official mistress I get given the title of consort. It's like being his wife without the actual title. I'm still expected to do all the same things and get to be addressed as Lady Jinx. When Victor does get married I will become just a concubine. An official mistress, that's all, losing the title of Lady as well as handing over the duties of being his wife to his actual wife. I'd be expected to share Victor with his wife and any other women he takes on as concubines." Jenny said the last line looking at Raven letting the dark enchantress know that Jenny hadn't forgotten about what they had talked about over breakfast the other day.
"So they're not monogamous in the Hells?" Kori asked rhetorically.
"Well most people only have one partner but on odd occasion, mostly the rich cause they can afford them, some people take on extra partners." Jenny explained.
"It's like that on my home world. But I prefer the idea of only having one partner. It's more romantic."
"I do too but I know Victor is going to marry someone else someday. I'm just going to have to get used to sharing the man I love with another woman." Jenny said dejectedly. At that point Kori decided to retire to bed leaving Jenny and Raven alone to talk.
"Why me?" Raven asked.
"What?" Jenny asked in return, confused by the sudden question.
"You obviously seem to want me to be that other woman. You kept looking at me whenever we talked about that during dinner." Raven clarified.
"Victor has designs on the Blood Throne, you know that. He will marry you one way or the other, it just would be better if there was something behind the marriage. Actual love and emotion instead of a lifeless and emotionless charade. As for me, I'd rather it be you then someone else. We might not know each other that well but its better then having to get to know a complete stranger. I'm not a hundred percent sure that Victor will marry you, he is strong enough to sit on the Throne himself, but if he doesn't marry you he might marry someone else. I wasn't joking when I said I'd let you and him date. You already hold a part of his heart I can never hope to unlock. I hold another portion. Together we might be able to bring back the Cyborg we knew. If we dig deep enough we might even find Victor."
"You're confusing me. You keep referring to him as Victor but you say we have to unearth Victor. Which is it?" Raven asked.
"I just call Stone Victor because it stirs up something in him. I've seen it affect him if only for a moment. That's proof that the real Victor Stone, the boy who became Cyborg, is still inside Stone somewhere. Help me bring that person back. Besides, I know I'm not making Stone completely happy. He puts up a good front but I've been with him long enough to know that he still feels empty inside. I've filled in a portion of his heart, you are the other part. If I have to share him to make him happy I'll do it. I want to see Stone happy, I really do. So please think of my offer and let me know. Stone won't do anything until I give it my blessing, at least for now. If it came to a worse case scenario, Stone would just force you to marry him, with or without my say. Well, it's late and I should get going. Thank you for the lovely dinner and the company. We should do this again sometime." Jinx said standing up.
Raven stood agreed that they should have dinner again just to be polite. By the time Raven had escorted Jinx to the door they had already made plans for dinner next Monday night.
In the end the two months passed and that faithful night approached. Jinx was entering her fourth month of pregnancy. Stone had let it slip that he knew she was pregnant. Unconsciously during his normal lunches with her, he would bring more and more food. Finally Jinx had shakily asked why he was doing that and Stone ended the conversation by simply saying that he knew. Of course Stone's cooks had noticed too and by Jinx's third month the entire empire knew and was at the brink of bursting out in celebration. Stone had failed to make an official announcement until the day of the fight. The celebrations were tremendous and lasted well into the night, leaving Jinx overwhelmed with gifts and parties to attend. Stone might have been a rather cold ruler but he was a good one and his people love him, and there for Jinx, in return for that.
With Jinx suitably occupied Stone made his way to the armory where he kept his spare equipment. For one night only, Cyborg was going to be resurrected.
There he changed his arms, exchanging his familiar arm blades for his old sonic cannons. Those and his fists would be his main weapons. The shock waves from his cannons would be to stun Robin; his fists would be the ones doing the damage. Cyborg was going to make Robin hurt and beg for submission before killing him. Just to be true to form Stone changed his armor from the dark Shadowsteel to the light titanium. Stone ditched his helmet as well, for once seeing the world with his real vision. Normally Stone kept his helmet on, letting him see infrared in both eyes, giving him an edge in battle. Jinx made him remove it whenever they were alone together though.
Finally set for battle Cyborg teleported to the surface and onto the top of the Titan Tower. He was an hour early but it gave him time to take in the serene night. It was a beautiful night; the moon full and beaming down through the clouds. There would be plenty of light for Robin to see, Cyborg wouldn't have an advantage in sight. Robin might have an edge in speed but Cyborg had strength. His strikes would be fewer but far more damaging in comparison to Robin's.
"You're early."
Cyborg turned his head and saw Raven standing next to him.
"I haven't been on the roof in years. I wanted to see the city at night once more. What are you doing up here?"
Raven hesitated a moment. Should she lie or tell the truth. In the end she decided on a half truth. "I'm here to watch the fight."
"You're not telling me the whole truth but I'll buy that. Just don't interfere." Cyborg replied. "Inferred, I can see changes in body heat and muscles tensing. It lets me know when ever one of the gang was lying to me." Cyborg explained pointing to his red eye.
"So you've known every time each one of us lied?"
Cyborg nodded his head. "I let you guys lie to each other because some lies didn't hurt anyone. Plus half the time I was on the inside circle anyway." Cyborg said answering Raven's next question.
Just a few stories below, Kori was helping her husband gear up. They hadn't talked about this fight at all but Dick knew how his wife felt. Still, it was placed under the same category as Kori's work and for the sake of peace Kori didn't bring it up. Dick spent the time working out and planning his attacks. When the time came, he had opted to don a bigger version of his old Robin costume. Through the grapevine, Jinx to Raven to Starfire, Dick had heard that Stone was going to don his original armor and look for the fight. Dick thought it fitting that he follow suit. After all the fight was "old school."
While the men had grown to hate each other the women folk had gotten along grandly. Dinner at the Tower had turned into a weekly thing that lasted until the early morning the next day. It really killed his Friday nights but it also gave Dick a vast amount of time away from Kori to train and plot. Of course it also gave the women folk time to plot as well. Dick might not have been in the meetings but he knew his wife well enough to know what she was up to. The specifics eluded him but Robin could only hope that they weren't planning something stupid.
Outfitted with spare battle staffs, boomerangs, and other gadgets Robin gave Kori a hard kiss. "Don't do something stupid please. And don't interfere." With that Robin made his way to the roof with Kori a step behind him.
The roof door opened and Cyborg and Raven stopped their conversation. They had been exchanging small talk about the night and other meaningless subjects to kill time.
Cyborg got up and walked out to the middle of the roof, a move matched by Robin. Starfire moved over to the side with Raven. For their part, they were there to break up the fight if things got out of hand. Additionally they were there to stop the other from interfering when their guy was in trouble. Raven was there on request of Jinx as Jinx had predicted Stone would find a way to occupy her the night of the fight.
"Rules are simple. First guy to die, loses."
"Agreed. Now shut up and go to hell tin can." Robin opened by throwing an explosive boomerang. Cyborg easily dodged it but just barely missed getting a direct hit from the second one Robin threw. Quickly crouching Cyborg opened up his right sonic cannon and blasted at Robin's feet. The boy wonder back flipped avoiding the harsh pounding sound that cracked the concrete roof where he once stood.
Several minutes passed with the combatants feeling each other out from range. There were several close calls but having fought side by side for so many years made it predictable as to what the other would do.
"You're going to run out of your damn toys sooner or rather bird boy." Cyborg taunted as he pinned Robin behind one of the large air vents that stuck out of the roof.
"Not before you run out of battery power you robot." Robin called back as he bolted to the right and threw a spread of exploding light pellets.
Caught off guard by the fast movement and blinding flash of light Cyborg didn't see Robin close the distance, strike him in the eye with a well thrown boomerang while the boy wonder followed up with a sickening kick to the head. Cyborg cursed having lost his electronic eye and being the one struck first as he jumped back to set his stance.
Robin followed with a series of fast punches and kicks before Cyborg could get his defence up properly. For the most part Cyborg parried effectively while Robin maintained the offensive.
A well placed heel kick cracked Cyborg's chest plate but the big man countered with a crushing blow to Robin's ribs. The crunch was heard over at the sideline and Raven had to restrain Starfire from flying in and interfering.
Robin winced. He knew for sure that he had some broken ribs. Doing a back flip and handspring that he immediately regretted Robin got enough distance to whip out his steel staff and smash Cyborg on the left side of his face. Blue fiber glass shattered and scattered as Cyborg staggered back. Feeling the side of his head Cyborg gave Robin a lot of pure loathing.
It was Raven's turn to be kept in place after Robin landed that numbing blow to Cyborg's head.
Cyborg straightened himself to his full height. The hole in his head, the size of a fist, and the moonlight catching the destroyed remains of his eye gave Cyborg a very menacing look. Pounding his fists together threateningly with a sharp clang of metal on metal Cyborg lunged.
Robin used his staff to knock Cyborg's leading fist away, dropped to the ground and took the big man's legs out from under him. Using Cyborg's own momentum Robin flipped him over onto his back at Robin's feet. Several fast downward thrusts further cracked Cyborg's frontal armor. One strike even made its way through and the end came up bloodied. The small round end and the sharp bits of armor having stabbed Cyborg in the chest.
On one such thrust Cyborg grabbed the staff and flung it, with Robin attached, into a nearby vent. A deafening bang echoed as Robin put a full body dent in the aluminum before dropping to the unforgiving concrete. Robin staggered to his feet a few feet away from the vent.
Cyborg had his shot lined up and this time he wasn't going to miss.
Jinx finally thanked the last of the guests. She had been attending parties and been showered with gifts since midmorning. Every lord and lady was taking the opportunity to suck up as much as possible to the great Lord General Stone through his consort but it made baby shopping easy. Jinx had everything she would ever need and then more. However that wasn't what was on her mind. She had to get top side and see the fight for herself. Though he had never explained why she could do this, Stone had taught Jinx how to teleport to the surface and below. It was for emergency purposes meaning if she found herself in trouble she simply had to shift what plane she was on. With everything taken care of down below Jinx teleported herself onto the roof of the Titan Tower.
Raven and Starfire bolted into action. Raven placed a form fitting protective barrier around Robin just as he leapt to the side. Starfire laid down some well placed energy disks at Cyborg's feet kicking up dirt. It was a moment too late as Cyborg had already fired his shot. No one noticed Jinx's sudden appearance on the roof. Only a scream and heart wrecking thud onto concrete altered the Titans to Jinx's presence.
As the dirt clear Cyborg saw Jinx's prone form lying in front of the door that led up to the roof. She had teleported right in the path of his sonic blast. The force of the shot had struck her in gut, slammed her into the door before she dropped to the floor. In an instant he was by her side, the fight forgotten. Starfire restrained Robin long enough to make him see what had happened.
Cyborg shouted for one of them to call an ambulance, the emotion so raw in his voice that everyone froze until he shouted again. There was a flurry of activity as Everyone got Jinx downstairs and covered up from the cold of the night. A quick over look showed that she had no external injuries that didn't mean anything.
The ride to the hospital was done in absolute silence. Cyborg accompanied Jinx in the ambulance while the others followed in the Titan Car V.2. At the hospital they all waited for an hour in the waiting room for word.
Several times they all tried to start a conversation but each member would close their mouth without saying anything. Raven, Dick and Kori sat in solemn silence as they watched their former teammate walk a path into the floor. Finally the big white doors opened and a doctor walked through.
"Mr. Stone?"
"How is she?"
"She's fine and is resting. However she lost the baby. I'm sorry."
A/N: 6,722 words. Not bad yes? I really bet you didn't see this coming! I would like to thank everyone for reviewing and placing bets. Those that said tie win. So cookies for those people! Just to let everyone know, I have a presentation, job hunting and at least two papers to do plus a multistate trek to go on (the job thing) in the next two weeks so don't expect anything for a while. This chapter was longer then most so savor it slowly.
To the reviews!
angelicdhampir2oo4: Well I'd think Stone would win too but since I made the fight Robin vs Cyborg, they were pretty even in the series for I opted for the draw. Thanks for the review!
T for Tanya: I wanted to do the triangle cause well it's so unusual. Plus in a culture where that is not common it adds to the shock value. As to it being sick to share a lover, I grew up in a place where it is common place for a man to keep a mistress. Of course the wife doesn't know but that sort of thing is not new to me. So I figured on a what if everyone knew that it was a triangle? Or rather . If it was a triangle then everyone would be sleeping with everyone else. I know there are fics out their with Raven and Jinx paired but I really don't see them as lesbians. As to the small kids. They are cute but I'm really one for control and quiet and that sort of thing. I'm sure I'll cave when I have my own kids but now I avoid them. Well I do get along ok with little girls but that's cause most of my cousins are girls so I have lots of practice with dealing with your scary race.
Th for Tod Hammonds: I have to ask, how do you get the last name of Hammonds. What does it mean? I just like to look at last names and wonder what you have to do or rather your ancestor, to earn that name. I know a girl whose last name is allcock, I kid you not. Anyway, thanks so much for the review. I like action myself but it has to have purpose to it. Mindless killing and the like is pretty pointless. I hope there was enough action for you. Detail is something I seriously need to work on. Thanks for reviewing!
The DiFFeReNT: Two can play those games too! I have to ask, you mentioned that you didn't know whose account to sign under so I'm curious as to which of you have accounts and what your screen names are. You really are a motley crew with you all divided over what couple you like best. For the RobStar people they will have some fluffy moments in the upcoming chapter. You bbter people will be disappointed to know that this really isn't about them. They are scheduled for an appearance but that will be it. They deal with the final battle for the East and that's all. To the CyRae people, things will start to develop between them. With Jinx in bed for a while she is not going to be that big a role. After all Stone can't spend all his time with her and Jinx just might start dropping huge hints… I think it was one of you that asked that Jinx be taken care of; well she is for now so I hope you're happy. StarRob coming up with the beginnings of CyRae. Thanks for the MONSTER review. I think that was the longest review I've ever had. Also you gave me ideas for this chapter though I didn't use what you suggested. Reactions please, this is in time for the weekend too so hope it brightened up your weekend. (If it did I'm not sure if I should be happy or sad. You really need to do more then look forward to fics you like being updated for entertainment on the weekends.) Finally, do you do this read and review collective with other fics or just me? And what made you decide to read and review all together? I'm done now, I think. I tend to rant on and on from one thing to another as I branch off and try to cover every angle. Now I'm done. Seriously. Done. Now.
LockDown over and out…