Yikes! It's weird, but when I was surfing Fanfic, I saw that everyone else had updated before Saturday or Sunday…maybe I'm behind or something, but I'm just posting. The reviews have been encouraging me, so…I'll keep on going. Hopefully, this will get better (and I believe it will).

Chapter Two:

Her back slammed against the side of a building, and the sheer collision knocked the wind out of Starfire; the girl's limp form slumped to the ground, as she struggled to fill her lungs with air.

What was going on?

Everywhere around her was filled and swirling with clouds of smoke. People were still screaming their heads off, and rapid gunfire was hammering her eardrums. All around, the scene blended into a world of absolute panic, like the contents of a snowglobe: They lay undisturbed and peaceful, until somebody picked it up and shook it around, destroying what calm it once had.

Heroes and villains: They were the people who shook things up.

Whoever the new invaders were, they obviously criminals of a sort—what their purpose, or why they were here, she couldn't be sure. But they definitely needed to be defeated.
The alien, lungs wracked with the effort to breathe, heaved loudly as she tried to push herself up onto her feet; her attempts failed, and she crashed back down to earth. Her head smacked against a block of random concrete, and her vision was dotted with stars. She had to get up…had to stop them…had to join up with the other Titans…

How was she too see anything with all this smoke in her way!

Starfire's fingers clawed at the side of the ruined building, digging whatever nails she had into the crevices, as she pulled herself up into a slumping position. Her muscles were quivering, and she thought she might fall again at any given time.

Everything had happened so quickly…One minute, she'd been standing with her friends and cheering, and then—

"GOD, SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!"

Somebody was screaming for assistance; begging, pleading, and she probably would not even get to them in time. Star was so feeble, so weak, and she hated feeling helpless…

MOVE! her mind screamed at her body.

"Please wait," She tried to yell, and her voice cracked from stress. "I am coming!"

The heroine trembled with every step she took, still clinging to whatever walls she could feel for support. The woman who had yelled earlier continued to scream her head off, and Starfire listened in order to direct herself, while trying to block out all the other cries for help.

"I am almost with you," She called softly. "Just wait…"

The smog revealed a hunched shape, barely five feet away from her, and the alien let go of the wall to stumble forward. At this perspective, it appeared to be a mother, crouching over something…

Please, do not let it be a dead child..

The Tameranean reached out a slender hand, and placed it on the frantic woman's shoulder.

"It is all right. I am here to help you—"

WHAM!

Someone behind her delivered a blow to the back of her head; it might have been a mallet, or a hammer, but it fulfilled its purpose. The young girl fell, and hit the ground: As she passed into darkness, she could feel twine being wrapped firmly around her wrists…

-partners-

Beast Boy had momentarily forgotten all of the evening's former festivities, as he plowed towards a group of the newcomer villains in the morph of a mammoth. He trumpeted loudly: Partly to let the people of Jump that the Titans were still putting up a fight, and partly to intimidate his new foes.

Come on, let's see what you're made of! he thought viciously, and plunged his tusks right into the center of the huddle. A few men yelled in agony, as the ivory pierced their flesh, and the force drove them backwards. Most of them were unharmed, though, and surged towards him with—

What were they carrying?

A gunshot cracked in the air, and Beast Boy mentally winced, expecting to feel pain, or see a bullet wound seeping blood onto his green fur…

Instead, a net had exploded from the end of the gun, and had been slung at him; the tough mesh knotted itself around his wide body, and the changeling grunted as he stomped and writhed in order to free himself; everything failed, and the net seemed to close about him even tighter—it was cutting into his body, despite his shaggy fur. Beast Boy had no choice: He demorphed, in hopes that the trap would be too large to hold him.

It was only when he was back in normal form that he realized, with horror, that the snare was too big; he was practically swimming in it, and when he flailed his arms to regain balance, the fabric twisted about his limbs.

He was caught, and only too easily.

The men from the helicopter were coming at him; Beast Boy roared in frustration, and it turned into an bestial howl as he changed into a wolf. They might have gotten him, but at least he wouldn't go down without a fight. No way.

His jaws stretched wide and bit down on hands, ankles, arms—whatever was close enough. Some of the men retreated to come up with a better plan; the braver ones threw their bodies into the fray, and soon, their weight had him pinned to the street.

Beast Boy changed back into his normal self and began shouting at the top of his lungs. Maybe—maybe one of the other Titans could still hear him, and if they came soon enough—

"Help, help—AHH!"

A needle pricked his skin, and only seconds later, his eyes slid out of focus; the drug was way too fast for him…but he had to fight it…ugh, he was so exhausted from fighting so hard…

Somebody was speaking, though their voice was dull and as sluggish as his thought process…

Had they used animal medication to sedate him?

'Cuz whatever they did is working…

Must…stay…awake…

Where are the other four? And why didn't they hear me…?

-partners-

Robin contorted his body as best as he could, trying to make his invisible captor release him. Maybe they were confused, and thought they were helping him; actually, it could just be a civilian who had dragged him out of the bomb's path. They always had this annoying tendency to think that they were assisting heroes. Maybe it was a police man, who'd been witnessing the event, and had caught the Boy Wonder just in time—

"Don't. Move."

Or…maybe not.

"Mmm!" Robin growled, and thrashed wildly beneath Slade's hold. In response, the villain dug his heel into the teen's ankle with merciless ferocity. The hero gave a muffled gasp of pain, and his jerking let up…but only a little bit.

"Be silent—"

Who does he think he is, giving me orders; like I'd obey them!

"—Unless you want to give both of us away."

Robin swore as loudly and as clearly as he could; Slade tensed the arm around the younger man's neck and lifted him off the ground, cutting off Robin's air supply. The Boy Wonder kicked out, trying everything to free himself, from wrenching his body, to digging his fingers into weak points on the criminal's arm. Nothing worked; Slade had positioned the side of his arm directly over his once-apprentice's voice box, and all the boy could do was flail.

"Either you're quiet…"

No way—

"…Or you'll kill yourself…"

Both males grappled a bit longer; Robin's breathing was ragged and coming in small pants. His head was spinning, and he needed oxygen fast…Slade wasn't kidding around this time…

The teen's fighting tactics must have grown consistently weaker, for a moment later, his enemy was whispering in his ear:

"I will let you go, but only if you swear not to say a word…"

"Ughn…" Robin moaned faintly, and gave once last feeble movement—and then he gave a tiny nod.

At once, Slade released him, and the Boy Wonder crashed to the ground on his hands and knees, shoulders shaking as he inhaled. The night air was still thick with fumes, and his lungs burned from the pollution and dust.

"Breathe, Robin…"

The teen had his back to his adversary, but he stiffened at the somewhat reassuring edge in the other man's tone.

"You—"

"You can call me whatever you want later on. But we have to leave now, before you meet the same fate as your friends."

"What—?"

"We need to go. Some of the Titans may have evaded capture, but I doubt it. The Ravager almost always gets what he came for."

"Who's the Ra—?"

Slade cut him off yet again, and Robin noticed how impatient he was that they depart. What if this was a trap, and the other man was responsible for everything that had just occurred? Why wouldn't he answer any of his questions?—the situation was serious and needed to be dealt with immediately, and even more so if the Titans were probably targets. And who was the Ravager anyway?

"I'll explain everything, but we have to find shelter first.Here."

Robin stared at the extended hand as if he'd never seen anything quite like it; and in a sense, he hadn't. Since when had Slade ever wanted to help him? There must have been a catch, and the boy didn't want to bother with hanging around and finding out what it was only to be a moment too late…again.

With a sprinter's agility, he thrust his body to the right, and took off down the alley. He could hear Slade muttering curses, and sped up. There were only two problems with his plan: One, was that the alleyway ended in a dead end (although this, he did not know). The second issue was that he was headed away from the guns and fighting…and his friends.

-partners-

"Raven?"

Blood was dripping from a cut in her head, seeping down the street like a tiny red river, and she followed its progress with wide, blank eyes. Raven's body blazed with a heat she had never felt in her entire life, and it felt as though she had swallowed an entire glass of liquid fire. People were screaming, running—but many were sprawled, motionless, on the ground beside her. They had died in the explosion…perhaps they'd been too close…

The smoke should have cleared away by now, but the invaders consistently dropped smoke bombs, flooding everyone's eyesight and air with a thick haze. All around her, Raven could feel her powers being tugged on by the injured and the dead: Her empathy stretched out like elastic, pulling her body in different directions, and ordering her to assist those who needed it.

She was tired…so very exhausted…

"Rae! Are you out there! BB? Star, Robin? Answer me!"

That was Cyborg's voice, hailing her. He was trying to find the rest of the group, her mind reasoned sluggishly. She should give him a sign, or something…

"C…"

Her throat had clenched, as if a huge fist had clamped itself over her esophagus; her arms were weighted down with lead, so she didn't have the option of waving him over. Maybe she'd get lucky, and he'd find her on his own.

The demon closed her eyes, and—summoning as much energy as she was able to contain—screamed mentally.

CYBORG! I'M HERE!

"Raven!"

Hands slipped beneath her body, and her robotic friend picked her up and set her on her feet; he allowed her to hang on him for support, while he examined the cut on the side of her skull.

"It's not bad," he concluded, "just a scratch. You've had worse."

The Gothic girl only nodded in a lost sort of manner; she may have sustained severer injuries, but the pain and the sensation of blood trickling down her neck made her strength crumple like a mere sheet of paper…that, and the knowledge that she and her team hadn't been able to take the bad guys down before they'd wreaked havoc on her home.

"W—where are the others?"

"I…I don't have a clue," Cyborg said truthfully. "But, if you can pull yourself together for a little bit, we can probably find them. Is that okay?" he added sympathetically. Raven nodded again, though Courage was silently raging at her.

What are you doing? This isn't like you: Take control, find your team members, and kick the new creeps' asses!

"You're trembling," the African-American reflected, as he assisted her in blundering down the ruined sidewalks, and mournfully picking their way around the dead. "Are you all right? Do you want to rest?"

"N—no…I'm just…" Raven shivered and cast her eyes about the clouded area. "…Cold. Very cold."

He smiled tightly.

"Everything's going to work out. It always does in the end…"

So they say.

She was about to ask him where he planned on looking first for their three friends, but froze when the slap of feet against pavement echoed in her mind. Raven swiveled her head this way and that, craning to see if anybody was coming or not—proof that her premonition hadn't simply been a figment of her imagination. Cyborg noticed her behavior change.

"What's up?"

"They're going to come…they're going to find us! We've got to get out of here now!"

"What? Who's coming?"

But he already knew; both of their ears caught the distinct sound of a group of strangers approaching—the ones who were responsible for the bomb.

Cyborg shot her a pained look, and then shoved her at a nearby side street.

"Go, Raven. I can handle this."

She refused to move, however, and stood gaping at him.

"I'm not leaving you," she said firmly.

"You're not leaving me. We're…we're just splitting up momentarily."

Raven glared at him.

"Don't lie. I'm not going to let you—"

Cyborg groaned.

"Damn, Rae, why do you have to be so stubborn? You're already hurt as it is: I can take care of these people, and we'll meet up after I'm done. You can send me one of those mental messages of yours—"

"No."

The humanoid cocked his arm cannon and aimed it at her; the footsteps were growing louder.

"Rae," he said in a commanding tone. "Go now."

She gestured in helpless anger. It wasn't the answer Cyborg was waiting for, and pointing his arm upwards, he blasted the rooftop with a quick beam of bluish-white light. The brickwork tumbled down in a mock, miniature avalanche, and it forced her to throw up her powers in a shield.

"Find them!" He yelled, as she disappeared behind the downpour of stone and grime; then Cyborg adjusted himself towards the sounds of his attackers, awaiting the fight.

"Bring it on," he whispered hoarsely.

-partners-

Robin jumped spryly across overturned trash cans, and abandoned cars, heart pounding in his heart and chest. Slade was right on his heels, lunging forward at times to try and grab hold of the boy's cape.

He wouldn't waste his time chasing you, if he was planning to lead you into a trap, his rational side informed him, but the Boy Wonder was too caught up in the moment to listen. All he knew was that he wanted to get away from the madman. And fast.

The child scrabbled over a few chain linked fences that were in his way, turned a corner—and came to the eventual dead end.

"No!" He hissed, and punched the wall; bits of brick and dust flew every which way. He was so stupid, that he'd practically walked into this, without even thinking of the consequences! He was trapped in an alley with his mortal enemy, and even farther away from the Titans than he was earlier.

"Robin!"

The teen hero whipped out his jumpcord and shot it at the nearest roof top, but when he made to leap up, Slade caught his ankle and twisted cruelly; the pain that shot through Robin's body made him release the cord. He crashed back down to the earth, and the older man wasted no time in punching him quickly in the face. The boy fell, back smashing against the wall with a thud. Slade gripped him by the front of the uniform till their faces were inches apart.

"Stop struggling!" He snapped, and pinned Robin to the wall. "I'm not trying to trap you—"

"Then what do you want?" The boy screamed in return, squirming ceaselessly. "What is it!"

Slade fixed the child with a serious gleam in his gray eye and said clearly:

"I'm trying to save your life."

Robin resisted the urge to laugh derisively in the mastermind's face.

"Save me? Why would you want to help me?"

The other male didn't answer, but his hold on Robin loosened a bit, making the Titan start in surprise.

"Let us just say that this is…personal. The Ravager loves to stir up chaos, but he came for a purpose—at least, another purpose than capturing your friends…he's after you."

Robin blinked and stared incredulously at his former master.

"What? What the hell are you talking about—?"

"I can't explain it now. But you must understand that we have to get off the streets, where he can't find us."

The boy appeared flustered, and shook his head disbelieving.

"Where's all this "we" coming from?" He snarled. "I'm not on your side, and you're not on mine—never have been, never will be. I don't want to be your 'partner.' I've already had to work with you once, and I hated it! I don't care what you've got to say, and I don't want to see you ever again! My friends are in danger, and you're in my way!"

Both of them were quiet, and glowered at each other.

"Let me go," Robin said fiercely.

Slade, slowly, released the Boy Wonder and backed off to the side. As the hero passed by, the dark man made a sarcastic, ushering gesture. He waited until the child was gone, and then murmured under his breath:

"I'll be seeing you soon, then…"

To be Continued…

So…how was that? Too dull? I promise, it'll pick up as soon as…well, you'll see. Thanks for reading, see you in two weeks!

Rebel