Dark Titans Titan Rising Chapter 9, a Ranma + Teen Titans Crossover fanfic

Dark Titans – Arc 4 – Titan Rising!

Chapter 9

Enjoy if you will, Tolerate if you won't

Ryouga landed lightly on the catwalk before launching himself into the air again. The dull grays of steel and dark browns of corrosion flew past him at breakneck speed as he ascended through the claustrophobic jumble of ironmongery and pipe work which composed the factory - only to do a double-take when he saw a yellow and black blur suddenly shoot up past him. Unfortunately his own flight path prevented him from following Terra's rapid trajectory, which worried him all the more.

He landed again, swinging his arms out quickly to balance himself on a treacherously narrow pipe. A quick look up revealed the large crimson frame of Adonis perched on a catwalk which encircled one of the massive towers that rose up through the heart of the facility. It also revealed Terra's suicidal ascent coming to its apogee.

"Crap." he muttered to himself.

Ducking into a low crouch, Ryouga fired himself skyward with all his strength; the metal piping beneath his feet bursting apart is a spray of green goo from the force. He kicked off the wall of the tower, arrowing further into the air, then grabbed a handful of cables and swung a full revolution around to pick up momentum before throwing himself recklessly towards his target.

He landed on a large tube which hung in the broad gulf between two of the large towers, only a few stories away from Adonis - only to nearly lose his footing. Twisting frantically to regain his balance, a quick glance down revealed his problem: green goo was liquefying the soles of his shoes!

"Ryouga, look out!"

The lost boy's head snapped up at the warning, just in time to see Adonis winding up to hurl a circular slab of metal at him. With a loud grunt of effort, the mammoth criminal swung forward and launched the oversized discus with such power that it cracked the sound barrier with its passage.

Ryouga's eyes widened and he tried to move, but his feet only slipped about uselessly - so he did the only thing he could in the fraction of a second he possessed:

He leaned back and let himself fall from the pipe.

Terra's eyes widened in terror as she watched Ryouga fall backwards off the pipe and vanish into the darkness below.

". . . Ryouga . . .?"

"Ha! Did you two really think you were a match for Adonis?"

As soon as she heard the grating voice, Terra's hands curled around the guardrail tightly, the metal twisting beneath her earth enhanced hands. As she looked down at the armored criminal, several strands of her blonde hair slid from behind her ear to cover her right eye.

The geokinetic girl vaulted the guardrail and landed on Adonis' catwalk with a loud *clang* that resounded throughout the night thanks to her additional bulk. Standing from her crouch, Terra eyed the imposing villain.

"I swear, if you hurt my friend . . ."

Adonis scoffed loudly, "You'll what? You can't do anything to me way up here, so, why don't you get lost like a good little girl?"

Terra watched, helpless, as her body moved to a will not her own. The dark voice of her 'master' slithered into her ear from across the dimly lit cavern.

"That's my good little girl."

`'-hrnRhaaaaaaa!" an inarticulate howl tore itself from Terra's throat as she hurled herself at the crimson colored criminal. The towering Adonis actually took a step back at her charge before recovering his wits and letting out a confident laugh and baring his chest for her. Her fingernails dug painfully into her palm as swung as hard as she could -

Terra's fist slammed home so hard that the report of her own strike nearly deafened her. Adonis' exposed face contorted hilariously as his massive frame actually slid back several feet, squealing loudly and shooting sparks every inch.

Terra didn't even have the chance to stare incredulously at her own handiwork, as her right hand was unceremoniously dragged to the catwalk with metallic ring. The reason for her ridiculous success became immediately evident; even as she watched, the massive stone slab wrapped around her own tiny hand began to flow back up her arm, reforming the stone serpent which ran comfortably across her shoulders.

The young hero stared at her newly uncovered hand for a long moment, a bit unsure of what to make of it. She hadn't even thought about doing that - which was a bit stupid of her, now that she thought of it, trying to punch a giant metal man with her bare hand . . .

A nasty smile, one she hadn't used for some time, formed on her lips as she looked at Adonis.

"If you think I'm going to let you get away with hurting my friend," she reminded him. "You've got another thing coming."

Standing straight again, Adonis brushed off his chest and glared down at her, finally looking serious for the first time that night. "Alright, Titan. I was hoping to test this suit out on the real Titans, but I guess you'll have to do."

Tired of talking, Terra charged forward pulling her arm back as she closed the gap. Adonis took a long step forward to meet her, his own arm cocking back in a loud whirring of servos as his hand closed into a heavy fist.

With arms nearly as long as she was tall, Adonis lashed out first, swinging around in a vicious right hook. Ignoring the warnings echoing through her head that she was insane, Terra held up her left arm to block; at the same time she stretched out her right arm and grabbed onto the steel guardrail for dear life. Almost of its own accord, the earthen boa solidified into a solid shaft of stone which ran behind her back and spread out to form an igneous shield which hovered several inches before her blocking arm.

Adonis' punch slammed into her guard so hard that it warped the guardrail over a foot out of shape. Long, jagged cracks spread through her shield and the impact shook her entire body, but the total absence of searing pain was a good sign.

Terra released the guardrail and in the same motion leaned forward towards her opponent, dragging her arm behind her. More aware now, she felt the odd sensation of inertia as the mass of her shield was rapidly reabsorbed, sliding up her left arm, then flowing down her right arm as she launched a haymaker of her own.

Her fist, though downright dainty compared to her opponent's, crushed into Adonis' chest with enough force to bounce him off the metal wall behind him. This time she was prepared for the enormous weight of the two foot block of stone wrapped around her fist to drag her hand to the ground.

Rather than panic, Terra knelt down into a low front stance, her left leg stretched out behind her and her entire weight balanced on her right leg, now tucked to her chest. Then, pushing with all of her strength, Terra leapt up into a textbook uppercut - Textbook, at least until the stone slab around her fist suddenly extended upwards into a rigid column which actually dragged her earth encased hand up with it.

Adonis staggered forward just in time to catch the earthen uppercut right to the chin. The two of them flew apart at the impact, Adonis flying up and back to slam back into the tower again, actually lodging into the metal wall several feet above the catwalk.

Terra did a gentle spin as she fell back from the strike, the stone spire which had lifted her seeming to liquefy as it flowed back up her right arm before settling across her shoulders again as she landed.

The geokinetic stared at her hands in wonder, a small sheath of stone sliding over to encompass her gloves as she did.

'Where did that come from?'

The sound of tearing metal told her she didn't have time to ponder the question. Ahead of her, Adonis pushed himself out of his form fitting indent and dropped to the catwalk with a rattling *clang*. Then, in an annoyingly casual manner, the bulky criminal lifted his arms and proceeded to flex his mechanical muscles in a ridiculous display.

"Heh, that wasn't too bad. You got a little spunk in you after all, don't you?" Suddenly the iron clad villain levelled a scrutinizing gaze her way. ". . . wait a minute . . . I know you . . . don't I?"

Terra's brow crinkled up at the unpleasant thought. "Um, I'm pretty sure I'd remember a tin plated jerk like you."

Adonis kept up his curious inspection for another moment before snapping his fingers. "Hey! That's right! You're that Dirtgirl, aren't you? The one that nearly took out the Titans, heck, the entire city. Man, I thought you were supposed to be dead, or something, though?"

A deep frown formed on the blonde's lips at the unpleasant reminders. "I got better," she replied in a bitter tone.

A derisive bark of laughter was his reply. "Better? You're joking, right? I thought you were supposed to be some kind of legendary monster, here, but I'm not even breaking a sweat yet." Another snide chuckle. "Well, I guess it's a good thing I didn't run into the real Titans after all. If someone as pathetic as you was enough to take them all on, then someone as powerful as Adonis would'a crushed those punks like bugs!"

The sudden clatter of stone hitting steel brought Adonis' diatribe to an end. The villain stared at her in confusion, probably wondering why she had just let the stone she'd been using as her weapon drop to the catwalk.

"Powerful? You think you know what power is?" Terra's words held a dark edge as she regarded the towering criminal. The slight girl lifted her hand and curled it into a fist as she stared at him; she could feel her eyes beginning to glow with yellow light.

It started off small, as a tiny tremor jolted the entire facility. Adonis staggered slightly, a fitting expression of worry blooming on his face as the catwalk continued to vibrate menacingly beneath his feet.

"Hey - hey now! What are you doing?"

Terra tilted her head to the side in mock curiosity. "What are you worried about, Adonis? I can't possibly do anything to you way up here, isn't that right?"

Another tremor, this one noticeably stronger, ran through the chemical plant. Adonis was forced to grab onto the guardrail to maintain his balance this time. Terra could only smile as she studied the look on his face -

"Enough, Terra." The reassuring feeling of a hand dropping on her shoulder caused the young blonde to spin around instantly.

"Ryouga! You're alright!" she cried ecstatically.

True to form, her mentor - barefoot for some unfathomable reason - offered up a macho smile. "Of course I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be?"

"B-but I saw you fall, how did you-"

Ryouga cut her off with an unconcerned wave of his hand before gesturing to the familiar form of the sleek, black umbrella strapped to his back, the very same one she'd seen him with when they'd first met.

"These things have a thousand uses. Now, Terra, calm down."

In an instant, Terra realized that the entire chemical plant was still vibrating. Taking a deep breath, Terra relaxed her body as best as she could and forced her mind to go blank . . . and a moment later, the shaking finally stopped.

A moment after that, Terra felt her cheeks begin to flush with embarrassment as she realized what she'd almost done. "I - I-"

"Hey, don't worry about it." It was offered with a smile, though even Terra could see the strained edges around it. The reassuring squeeze he gave her shoulder, though, felt completely genuine. "Just take it slow. You don't need your full power to deal with a coward like this."

"Hey! Who are you weaklings calling a coward?" Adonis finally released the guardrail and rose to his full height once more. "It's gonna take more than a few special effects to scare me!"

Terra spun to glare at the annoying villain, only to have Ryouga pull her back. Releasing her shoulder, the martial artist then cracked his knuckles menacingly. "I don't suppose I can take a turn?"

Terra simply smiled and gestured for him to pass her.

"Be my guest."

Far above the battle, Starfire let out a breath she had not realized she had been holding. That had been far too close for comfort. Though she could not be certain as to exactly what Terra's intention may have been, the physical reverberations which had struck the facility had been most disconcerting. She only hoped that no one else-

The telltale sound of her communicator activating caused her spirits to flag immediately. With resigned hesitance, Starfire flipped open the device.

"Starfire, this is Robin, come in."

The Tamaranian bit back a sigh. "I am here, Robin."

"We're reading some unusual seismic activity from the factory. Is everything alright in there?"

Starfire waffled for a long moment, not certain how to respond, until finally -

"Yes, Robin. The fight is proceeding acceptably thus far. Ryouga and Terra seem to be lacking in the area of the team work, but Terra is showing an impressive amount of improvisation with her power."

Robin smiled at that. "Well, Ryouga hasn't had any real practice with team combat yet, so that might be something to focus on later. It's good to hear that Terra's training has helped more than her control, as well. Also, can you tell us anything about their opponent, yet? I haven't been able to find any information on him yet."

Starfire shook her head. "Unfortunately, there is little I can impart upon you. The criminal is obviously wearing a powered suit of some sort, however the design of the suit is unfamiliar. The most educated guess that I can make is that it is not a suit designed for warfare, due to the lack of obvious weaponry."

"Either that, or he's just a punk that managed to steal it and just hasn't figured out how to use them. . . . Regardless, keep on watching them, and remember, if it looks like things are going badly, get down there and help them as quickly as you can."

Instantly, the professional tone disintegrated as Starfire let out an annoyed 'Hmph!' at that. "I can assure you, I would have done that even had you not said so."

With a dull *thunk*, Happosai landed on the hood of the last of the approaching squad cars. With a wide smile, a cheeky wave, and deft flick of his wrist, the ancient master tossed the Happo Dai-Kabin in through the driver window. Just like the other four cars, the officers had just enough time to start panicking before grayish ball burst, instantly filling the interior of the car with paralytic mold.

A moment later, the car rolled to an abrupt stop, a convenient lamp post providing a break for the coasting vehicle.

Confident that there would be no more distractions, Happosai dusted some stray spores from his hands and turned to watch his disciple's on-going battle.

. . . Where was his disciple's on-going battle?

For that matter, where was his disciple?

A few quick jumps took him to the general area where he had last seen Jinx fighting with Killer Croc. From there, things quickly fell into place.

The massive, twenty foot wide hole in the center of the street was hard to miss.

He could feel the tell-tale tingle of his apprentice's power dancing along the edges of the shattered pavement. Though, considering the scope of the destruction, it didn't surprise him that Jinx was somehow responsible. The fact that the hole had punched straight through the road and into a subterranean culvert of some type . . . well, that appeared to be just Jinx's luck.

"Don't let an old man down, Jinx . . . You've come too far to fail now . . ."

A drop of water splashed on the edge of her consciousness . . .

It was soon followed by another, this one rolling down her cheek and tickling her nose before splattering onto the ground.

The third drop prompted Jinx's eyes to flutter open . . . and her nose to crinkle in disgust.

"W-what is that smell?" the sorceress muttered to herself, still only half awake. Gingerly, her entire side protesting every inch of the way, Jinx attempted to sit up and take stock of her situation -

Which immediately caused her to topple off of the narrow ledge she'd landed on and proceed to tumble helplessly through the air for another twenty feet before splashing down in an endless seeming pool of water. Instantly blind panic gripped the young woman and she thrashed about, terrified. It wasn't until her foot inadvertently kicked the bottom, that she realized that the water she was now standing in was only chest deep.

Unfortunately, Jinx didn't have time to contemplate her embarrassment as a much more disturbing matter loomed in on her.

" . . . Please . . . please tell me that I am not in a sewer!"

A quick scan around her revealed various pieces of detritus floating on the brackish water around her.

A deep shudder ran its way up the entire length of her spine.

"Don't throw . . . Don't throw up Jinx - Do not throw up . . ."

The focus granted by her hastily repeated mantra not only allowed the girl to settle her rising gorge, it also gave her the clarity to realize another important fact:

'I am currently standing up to my A-cups in sewage fighting someone named Killer Croc . . .'

She managed to spin around just in time to see the little patch of bubbles in the water behind her explode into a towering geyser as Killer Croc burst out of the water, arms spread wide.

Sadly, that was all that she had time to do. She tried to dive to the side, but as deep in the . . . water . . . as she was, all she managed to do was splash around ineffectually before Croc crashed down on her in an avalanche of scales and muscle.

Jinx made the mistake of crying out in pain as Croc crushed her to his chest in a vicious bear hug, as a second later he dove forward and plunged them beneath the water. Her ribs gave an ominous creak as all the air was expelled from her lungs in an instant and a second later, water spilled in to take its place.

Blind panic ripped through her mind and she started thrashing her legs uselessly - her mouth was so filled with liquid that she couldn't even scream out. All she could feel was the implacable scales squeezing in on her sides with pneumatic force.

Pink light flared to life right in front of her as her power surged uncontrollably. The eerie pink light pouring out from her hands revealed the massive chest to which she was being crushed, as well as the snapping jaws hanging mere inches above her head!

A scream tried to tear itself from her throat, but there was nothing left to exhale. She wouldn't even have the chance to drown with the way her organs were being squeezed to pulp - there was nothing she could do, no trick she'd learned from Happosai that would let her finesse her way out . . .

Without even thinking, the desperate sorceress pressed her hands against Croc's chest and wildly poured as much power into it as she could. Within seconds the water began to bubble and boil between them; Jinx would have cried out herself if she could have, but she ignored the pain poured it on.

Bright spots began to dance across her vision and her lungs felt like they were going to explode, collapse and burst into flames all at once, but the light from her hands just kept getting brighter -

And suddenly she was in the air again - flying wildly through the air as Croc hurled her away from him, howling in pain. A mouth full of brackish water flowed down into her lungs as she tried to take her first breath, instantly wracking her with an agonizing coughing fit as she attempted vainly to control her landing.

She landed in a spectacular belly flop several yards away, pain flaring through ever fiber of her torso for a seeming eternity. Finally, though, she managed to right herself enough to actually take in a deep breath of air - which immediately prompted another series of hacking coughs which nearly made her pass out.

While she painfully recovered, she took a quick glance at her opponent . . . Killer Croc was still bellowing his fury and splashing water furiously over the two livid, jet black hand prints that were now burned into his pectorals.

Despite her very minor victory, Jinx didn't feel like celebrating. It was all she could do to drag herself out of the water and onto one of the narrow walkways that ran around the large collecting pool.

Coughing up the rest of the water in her lungs, Jinx forced herself up from her hands and knees to fire a death glare at Croc.

"You . . ." She drew her sleeve across her lips to wipe away her spittle . . . only to grimace as she made the mess even worse, ". . . you made me drink sewer water! There isn't even a metaphor for how dead you are!"

Instantly Killer Croc ceased his efforts to cool his chest and turned his hate filled eyes her way. Wafts of steam continued to roll up his torso and his eyes narrowed into murderous slits as he studied her.

Then the reptilian criminal slid beneath the surface of the pool and vanished from her sight . . . and within seconds, the ripples died away leaving the water as calm and dark as polished onyx.

Jinx considered this turn of events for a moment.

". . . Crap . . . I think I really pissed him off."

Maybe discretion would be the better part of valor for now?

The caped crusader dropped to the ground next to the withered master with barely a whisper of sound. Then, in a practiced motion, he pulled out his grapnel hook and aimed it down into the abyssal gulf that rested in the heart of the street. He prepared to fire a line down into the pitch -

Only to have the device knocked from his hand by an antique pipe. Even as his launcher bounced to the hard pavement and skittered away, Batman spun to stare at Happosai.

The ancient master wasn't even staring back at him, rather, all of his attention was downwards, as if he were trying to pierce the obfuscating darkness by pure force of will. "Now, now, Detective, none of your tricks."

The detective's eyes narrowed dangerously. "This has gone too far. Your apprentice is in real danger now. It's time that we intervened."

Slowly, Happosai began to nod in agreement, ". . . I'm afraid I can't let you do that, boy. This is Jinx's trial . . . and she'll either succeed or fail on her own."

"I don't think you understand just how dangerous Croc is, especially in his own environment like this. If we don't help her, she will very likely die," Batman explained in all seriousness.

Happosai shrugged. "I suppose anything is possible."

The cloaked hero could scarcely understand what he was hearing. "You claim to be this girl's master . . . and yet you would leave her to die?"

The ancient master turned on him, a serious expression on his face. "I do this because I am her master. Do you think I want to see any harm come to my disciple? She won't lose to the likes of that one, not with what I've taught her, I promise you that." Happosai smiled confidently. "I know that she'll prove herself worthy of the training I've given her, and I won't let you spoil our fun."

The Dark Knight could hear the strain in the old man's voice, as if he was trying to convince himself of his own words. Batman was no stranger to the 'life and death' combat test, but at the same time, he couldn't be certain just how much of Happosai's faith in his student was confidence, and how much was bravado . . .

Despite the chill running up his spine at the mere thought of what he was about to do, the grim hero reached into the back of his utility belt and discretely slid on his electrified knuckles.

"I understand why you think you need to do this, Happosai, but I can't just allow you to throw her life away for nothing like this . . ."

Happosai let out a beleaguered sigh as he returned his attention to the pit. "Do what you gotta do, Detective. I know that my Jinx has what it takes. Of course, if he does get lucky, then your crocodile man will find that her life comes with a hefty price tag."

As tempting as it was to just let someone else deal with a psychotic monster like Killer Croc in a permanent manner, that just wasn't the kind of man he was. Though he wasn't certain if it would help at all, the caped crusader pulled something else from his belt as well.

With a sigh, Batman slammed the smoke pellet into the ground right at Happosai's feet.

Adonis smirked as he regarded the tiny man approaching him, cracking his knuckles. He had been taken off guard by the girl - who would have expected such a skinny little thing to hit that hard? - but he wouldn't make the same mistake with this one. Considering he was dressed like some kind of kung fu fighter and, more importantly, how he had leapt all the way up here under his own power, made it pretty obvious that this was no normal guy.

That in mind, Adonis spread out his stance and lifted his hands up in a loose approximation of a boxer. "Alright then, bring it on, little man."

The little fighter was more than eager to please, letting out a dark growl and baring a pretty impressive set of fangs as he charged. Even as prepared as he was, though, Adonis was still shocked at the sudden burst of speed from his opponent. The headband wearing guy nearly vanished into a blur, only to reappear at his side and lash out with an arcing kick.

His surprise only increased when the kick slammed into his side. Unlike last time, he wasn't leaving himself stupidly wide open, but it was still strong enough to send him skidding a foot to the side in a shower of sparks.

It was followed up by an even faster punch to his 'ribs' which rang his entire suit like a gong. Adonis wasn't sure how it was possible, but this guy was hitting harder with his bare hands than the girl was with a hundred pounds of stone wrapped around her fist.

Still, it was nothing compared to what Adonis could dish out! The massive criminal lifted his foot, only to slam it down a second later. The strike reverberated through the entire catwalk, shaking both the fanged fighter and the tiny blonde girl; more importantly, though, it imbedded his foot into the steel catwalk, giving him insurmountable footing.

The bandanna guy's next kick, a fanciful twisting back-kick kinda thing, struck with the force of a compact car, but Adonis didn't budge an inch. His smile growing by the second, the titanic criminal swung a devastating backhand at his nimble opponent. Unsurprisingly, the little guy ducked under it with no real problem, but the look on the fighter's face when Adonis' fist tore through the three inch steel wall of the tower beside them like so much tissue paper . . . well, that was priceless.

"Heh, you shouldn't have called off your girlfriend, Shorty. You may have some fancy moves, but when it comes to strength - no one can match Adonis!"

A frown spread across his opponent's face. "What do you know about strength?"

Adonis let out a bark of laughter. "I know that this suit gives me more than enough strength to deal with a pest like you! And once I've squashed you, I'll finish of String Bean over there, and then I'll deal with the rest of your Titan buddies. And you aren't strong enough to do anything about it, runt."

Much to his delight, the martial artist's face flushed red in fury. "I'll show you how strong I am!"

Again the small fighter charged forward, but this time Adonis was ready. Waiting until the last possible second, he let the furious warrior close in before lashing out with a lightning quick jab of his own -

Only to be shocked again, when, rather than just charge in recklessly for another combo of useless punches, his enemy ducked under his fist and spun around, only to slam bodily into Adonis and lock his arms around his waist in a vice-like grip.

"What the heck are you doin-"

His question was cut short when he suddenly felt himself being lifted off the ground. His entombed foot gave a painful squeal as it was torn free from the flooring and the small fighter suddenly spun them around. The moment the hero began to arch his back and Adonis felt himself tip forward helplessly, the intent became clear.

"Nononono! You idio-"

Adonis smashed face first into the fragile steel catwalk with bone rattling force. The metal walkway twisted and warped around him like a fishing net and the meager support bolts holding it to the wall snapped off with a sound like gunshots. A moment later, an ominous groan filled the air as the staircase, now the only thing really holding the catwalk up, began to slowly fold under their combined weight.

Panic gripped the bulky criminal as the black void loomed below him. In a surge of power, the servos in his suit whined to life and swung out his mechanical arms, tearing the metal wreckage apart around them . . .

Which was more or less the limit for the stairwell. The spindly frame snapped off its base completely and an instant later, the entire section of catwalk, as well as the two fighters, was tumbling down through the air. Adonis' scream reverberated through the entire facility as several hundred pounds of twisted steel banged and rattled around him as they fell.

Suddenly, a number of yellow blurs shot out from . . . somewhere . . . the whirring discs flying into - and then through the tangled ironmongery. The shower of sparks and hellish sound of steel being sliced apart lasted for just a few seconds - and then the metallic death cage simply fell apart around them, leaving them in a slightly more solitary descent to their dooms.

Adonis' mind numbing terror was interrupted by a heavy fist slamming into his stomach.

The criminal looked down, incredulously, to stare in shock as the martial artist dug his fingers under the edges of his armor and then rammed his other fist into his chest again.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

Despite the fact that he could barely hear his own voice over the whipping winds, Adonis clearly heard the feral snarl from the crazed lunatic. Rather than respond, the fighter swung his entire body back, only to pull back down and slam both feet into his mechanical chest hard enough to flip them right over in mid air. On the bright side, Adonis could no longer see where they were falling; on the not so bright side, his insane opponent was now straddling his chest and pummeling his poor, abused armor with furious right hooks.

He threw a few desperate punches at the berserker, but the dark haired warrior either ducked beneath them, or outright blocked them with angry swings of his ridiculously powerful arms.

Screw this! The guy wasn't actually hurting him, so he'd deal with him later! Frantically, Adonis looked around, trying to find anything to grab on to, to stop their fall.

His search proved moot when the air was blasted from his lungs when his back suddenly crushed into a heavy pipe running across their path. The thick metal walls bent nearly in half from their impact, only to be sundered completely by another hit from the crazed fighter which slammed home with freight train force.

The sounds of shredding steel pierced Adonis' ears as he was punched through the metal tube, and then they were free falling again. This fall wasn't nearly as long, since they hit the guard rail on another catwalk. They tore right through it, but it was enough to send them into a wild spin as they fell. The entire world dissolved into a blur of darkness and metal as they spun through the night air.

The pair of them, the martial artist now clinging to him for dear life, slammed into several more pipes, a few walls and storage tanks - the last one sandwiching the fighter between the heavy steel walls and the indestructible frame of his suit - before they finally slammed down onto a platform sturdy enough to bring a jarring halt to their drop.

Several long moments passed as they both lay in the crater their landing created. Labored breathing and pained groans were the only sounds for nearly half a minute as they fought to regain their breaths.

His pained grin growing, Adonis was the first to sit up. Though it felt like every inch of his body was on fire, he was certain that his suit had absorbed the worst of his damage . . . unlike his unfortunate opponent.

With a whir of servos, the technological terror rose to his feet, dragging the martial artist up by the scruff of his neck. His pained grin grew into an evil smile as he looked around them. It didn't take him long to find something suitably humiliating to punish this little maniac with. His victim's eyes followed his line of sight, only to widen in fear.

"Ohhhh no."

Adonis nodded spitefully. "Ohhhh, yes."

He then reared back, martial artist in hand, and hurled him as hard as he could. The human missile tore through the air in a blur of yellow and black . . .

. . . shattering the Lavatory's roof to dust and vanishing from sight a second later to the sounds of smashing porcelain and splashing water.

Adonis dusted off his mechanical hands, laughing to himself. "That's one problem well and truly flushed. Now . . . Where did that other one get t-"

A massive stone battering ram crashed into his side, firing him off the platform with all the grace of a chromatic red pinball. He ricocheted off of something unyielding before dropping a final uninterrupted thirty feet to smash to the concrete floor. The ground shattered like glass, blasting up a cloud of dust and debris from the crater his landing formed.

Groaning in pain, Adonis dragged himself to his knees, ignoring the worrying sparks jumping angrily from his shoulder. "Damn girl . . . startin' to piss me off . . ."

As the dust finally began to settle, it revealed the blonde girl standing over a dozen yards away from him, her hands clenched into tight fists at her sides and her eyes glowing with yellow energy.

He started to feel a tinge of nervousness creep in again as he regarded the angry looking girl. If he was gonna have even a chance, he needed to close in fast!

Ignoring the pain, Adonis jumped to his feet and charged forward, ripping up a chunk of concrete as he did. He tossed the slab ahead of himself as he ran, only to watch as the girl effortlessly waved her hand to the side, causing the chunk to fly wide, then lift her other hand. In an instant, a stone column rose up in front of him.

He didn't even slow his charge, just lowered his sparking shoulder and blasted through the pillar. A flash of worry flashed across her face when he smashed through the second pillar just as easily.

Just as his confidence began to rise again, though, the girl lifted both hands, and a dozen basketball sized boulders tore themselves out of the grounds and flew towards him in a swarm. He managed to swat the first two out of the air, but the rest slammed into his frame, first unbalancing him, then finally sending him flying to crash on his back again.

'Damnit!' Reaching out blindly, not even sure what it was he ended picking up, Adonis sat up and tossed whatever it was at the girl as hard as he could.

The chunk of steel pipe wall whistled through the air fast enough that it generated a crack of thunder. The blonde barely had enough time lift a stone wall up in front of her, letting out a yelp of panic, but the metal projectile demolished the hasty defense in a burst of rubble which slammed into the shocked girl with bone rattling force.

The blonde collapsed to the ground in a heap, half buried in the same earth she'd used to defend herself.

A moment passed in silence . . .

Adonis let out a bark of laughter . . . then another.

Slowly dragging himself to his feet, he took a step towards the downed girl.

"Looks like it's time to finish you off, little lady."

"Over my dead body!"

Adonis stopped dead at the unfamiliar voice coming from somewhere. Had another Titan arrived on the scene? He was just about to look around to find the speaker, when said speaker chose that same moment to drop down right before him. Adonis could only stare strangely at the new arrival.

". . . Who the hell are you, kid . . . And why are you wearing the same stupid headband that other guy was?"

The young boy, standing barely half his height, glared up at him heatedly, even as he tucked a small yellow disc behind his back..

"My name is . . . um - ah . . . It's none of your damn business, that's what! Oh, forget it, just prepare to die!"

Though it was excruciating, Jinx struggled to control her breathing as she slid along the wall. It was also a struggle to ignore the feeling of the slick sewer wall on her back, but she choked down her disgust and kept herself pressed up against it as she moved. It was so damned dark down here, away from even the meager light filtering down through the hole they'd blasted in the street, that the wall was the only thing she could use to navigate.

Moving as carefully as possible, she lifted one foot and slid it to the side before lowering it - and very nearly gave herself a heart attack when the thick sole of her shoe touched down on a metal grating of some sort, causing a metallic rattle to echo outward. Despite the fact that the sound was nearly silent, in her current state it sounded like she'd just stepped on a landmine.

Though the sorceress knew it was foolish, she had to know what she'd just stepped on. Holding her hand tightly to her chest, she turned to the wall and willed a tiny spark of power to flare to life at the tip of her finger. For an instant she was blinded by pink, but her sharp eyes quickly adjusted to the faint light. A quick look down revealed her situation.

The wall she was sneaking along ended less than a foot away from where she was standing, opening into a wide circular tunnel which ran perpendicular to her narrow walkway. What she'd stepped onto was apparently a long, floating catwalk which ran down the center of the tunnel and far off into the impenetrable darkness.

Snuffing out her tiny night light, Jinx quailed internally at what she should do. Did she go back the way she came from and possibly run into Croc where she knew he had the advantage, or did she keep moving forward and risk giving away her position in hopes of finding a better place to make her stand . . .

Letting out a tiny sigh, Jinx took another excruciatingly careful step, bringing her full weight onto the catwalk. A nearly inaudible creaking emanated from the bulky metal walkway, but her meager weight didn't appear to be enough to displace the catwalk too much.

Relatively confident now, she began to travel down the tunnel, stepping quietly and using the handrail to keep on track. As she walked she could almost see the sound waves rolling out from her every step, and did everything in her vivid imagination to try to minimize the invisible lines. Unfortunately, walking nearly blind as she was left a good part of that up to luck-

As was evidenced when the toe of her shoe kicked into the upraised lip of the next section of catwalk that some damned, lazy engineer hadn't bothered to bolt down correctly! A loud *clang* rang out, the sound meter in her mind's eye spiking painfully and the shocked sorceress let out a pretty nasty profanity.

Mere seconds later, she let out an even more vulgar curse when the catwalk beneath her began to rattle ominously. Instantly, Jinx raised her hands and pink fire encompassed them as she spun around to spot her carnivorous adversary.

As such, she was caught totally off guard when the section of catwalk right before her suddenly exploded up in a shower of sewer water and shattered metal. A second later, the massive figure of Killer Croc, damp scales shimmering unnaturally around the pair of dark hand shaped scorch marks on his chest, landed on the catwalk before her, sending her stumbling back frantically.

With a feral growl, the criminal creature lashed out with gleaming claws and only the fact that she was already stumbling out of the way kept her from being disemboweled on the spot. She bit off a pained scream as the completely unsanitary claws tore into her left arm, shredding dress and skin alike. She felt a spray of warmth splatter across her face and familiar taste of copper trickled across her tongue as the force of the strike sent her spinning into the guardrail painfully.

The panicked sorceress did the only thing she could think of, then, she scrambled to her feet and began to sprint back the way she came, hand pressed harshly against her bleeding arm. Within moments she reached the end of the catwalk and, not really knowing what else to do, simply leapt straight up into the maze of pipes and masonry that crisscrossed above the massive septic pool of the culvert.

'What the hell am I gonna do! . . . What would Happi do?'

Killer Croc smiled vindictively as he lifted his bloodied claw up to his nose and took a deep breath. The scent of his prey, fresh and unmistakable even in the heart of the sewer, filled him with a primal hunger. Sure, there wasn't much meat to be had on such a tiny little thing, but he had no doubt that she would be a meal he would never forget.

Moving quickly, he reached the end of the catwalk; the dim light from the distant hole in the street growing incrementally brighter by the minute was more than enough for his eyes, accustomed to such darkness, to see the vast pool of water before him.

A quick sniff told him what he needed to know. Looking upward, he began to carefully scan pipe works above his head. The nearest pipe was only fifteen feet above his head, not so far for him, and not so far for his nimble opponent from what he'd seen.

Another round of hide and seek, was it? This one wouldn't even be as sporting as the last one. It had taken forever for him to wait for her to slip up and give away her position before, but now he had her scent again . . . it was just a matter of time.

The crocodilian criminal indulged himself with a loud chuckle as he looked up into maze of ironmongery. "You can't hide from me, bitch. *Hsssk* I can smell you . . . Smell your blood. I'm going to enjoy cracking your bones open, Girly."

His voice echoed back and forth across the cavernous chamber before utter silence settled in for several long minutes. He strained his ears, listening for so much as a scuff of rubber on metal that might tell him where she was hiding; the silence seemed like it might stretch on into eternity, until he was finally rewarded with a response. The infuriating girl's voice echoed around tauntingly, but he could clearly make out the words.

"Croc, how is it that we're in a sewer and you're still the ugliest thing around?"

Before Croc even had the chance to growl at the insult, suddenly several blasts of pink energy fired out randomly from above. The flashes of light slammed into any number of surfaces, most notably the rusted pipe above his own head. A second later, he was forced to frantically dive to the side as the heavy piece of steel inexplicably collapsed under its own weight and attempted to make him do the same.

A horrendous cacophony filled the air as numerous pieces of masonry and steel fell down into the pool and onto the various ledges and catwalks that crisscrossed the watery chamber. Massive splashes of water and sparks of brick on metal obscured his vision completely for a moment before the room finally calmed down to near silence again.

. . . Was this girl really that stupid? Moving quickly, Killer Croc scaled up the nearby wall, his claws digging into the crumbling mortar easily, and leapt to a nearby ledge. He quickly honed in on the general area he'd seen energy blasts originate from. Taking another deep breath, her scent filled his nose, leading him unerringly in on her.

He raced down the ledge before leaping across to a hanging pipe. Once there, he began to move cautiously once again. While more nimble than anything with his bulk had any right to be, he was no gymnast . . . unlike that damned girl. Balancing himself carefully, he stalked down the length of the pipe before swinging over to another pipe which cut across on a more direct route to his prey.

It took all of his will to stop himself from breaking into a full sprint on the precarious pipe work. The sound of his blood pumping in his own ears was all he could hear and his vision began to narrow into a tunnel of pure intent as he closed in. The smell of blood filled his nostrils, pulling him forward . . .

There!

On the far side of a hanging support, he spotted her. Even in the subterranean gloom, the dark lavender of the frayed, flaring shoulder of her dress peeking around the steel beam stood out keenly.

Croc took a second to stop himself, forcing himself to calm down as he crept forward. Each silent step was torture, as his instincts howled for blood, but he managed to suppress his bloodlust enough to keep his approach as stealthy as possible.

Finally, after a seeming eternity, the scaly criminal was close enough, less than three feet of air and eighteen inches of mild steel between him and the little witch. The smell of her blood was strong now, tantalizingly so. Sinister smirk growing on his pallid lips, Croc reached back, muscles tensing gleefully . . .

Then he lunged, his deadly claws cutting through the air as he swung his arms around the support. He caught the slight girl dead between his talons and felt the gratifying sensation of fabric tearing to ribbons - quickly followed by the painfully grating squeal of his claws skittering across steel.

Confused, Croc pulled his hands back . . . only to stare blankly at the torn pieces of material that hung from his nails. What was once a one piece dress was now slashed into a halter top and a miniskirt and the sight left him completely befuddled.

If her clothes were in his hands . . . then where was she?

It was in that moment of silent contemplation that an odd sound began to filter its way into his consciousness. Some kind of . . . bubbling sound? And it was coming from . . . from below him?

Morbid curiosity drew his gaze down to the pool of water directly below him. The shock of pink hair stood out easily against the brackish water, as did the wide, Cheshire grin which it framed as Jinx looked back up at him. In the chest deep water he could only see the top of her dark sports bra, but that fact was quickly forgotten in light of the roiling, churning patch of water directly in front of her.

The reason for the bubbling was revealed all too soon as the slight girl lifted her hands out of the water. For some reason, her hands were wrapped in what looked to be the very striped stockings she'd been wearing earlier - and mere seconds after leaving the dark water, the steaming material all but vaporized, revealing a disturbingly large sphere of raging pink energy dancing merrily between her cupped palms.

"Pucker up, you scaly son of a bitch!"

"Oh Hel-"

And then Killer Croc's world dissolved into a disgusting neon pink.

Batman dove frantically to the side as a series of explosions rocked the street all around him. In a flash of movement, he pulled out another fan of beeping batarangs and hurled the lot of them at the madly bouncing form of the tiny terror.

Happosai easily ducked and dodged around the flying blades, even as he pulled out another handful of his archaic looking explosives. The diminutive master quickly dove forward as the batarangs dug into the street around him before exploding furiously a second later.

The debris from these latest explosions joined a steady hail of shattered infrastructure which was now raining down around them. Patches of impenetrable smoke from various smoke bombs cut visibility down, fires raged in shallow craters and alternating patches of ice and mold peppered the streets from countless near misses.

Reaching behind his back mid roll, Batman checked his ice pellet compartment, only to find it woefully empty.

A second later one of Happosai's fuse bombs bounced down onto the pavement right in front of him. The Dark Knight had a split second to bemoan his opponent's apparently unlimited supply of explosives, even as he threw himself backwards and threw his arms up in front of him to shield his face.

The inevitable explosion lifted the caped crusader off of his feet and sent him flying through the air. The heat and concussion was painful, but not cripplingly so. Again, he easily righted himself in midair and landed on his feet, skidding to a stop several feet later.

A somewhat frantic search revealed that his supplies of smoke pellets, explosive pellets and standard batarangs were all exhausted as well. He'd just thrown his last set of explosive batarangs and he only had one last charge left for his grapnel hook.

None of which mattered, as the diminutive master of martial arts was already charging his way again, intent on another round of fisticuff. Batman glanced down at his electric knuckles . . . Or at least the remains of them. The right one was sparking slightly in a way it wasn't designed to . . . the left had been reduced to an expensive set of brass rings. The detective was also certain that he would be feeling the results of his hasty resetting of his dislocated shoulder for the entire week to come.

There was nothing to be done for it now. He needed a distraction or he was done for, and without ever having even gotten close to the hole in the street. There was only one compartment left on his belt that wasn't empty, the compartment that he used to collect evidence from crime scenes.

Even after being subjected to the tiny terror for several minutes now, Batman's eyes still widened at the burst of speed that Happosai poured on as he surged forward, manic smile splitting his face.

Even with decades of painstaking training, honing his body to the limit of human potential, Batman scarcely had enough time to empty the contents of his belt into his hand and throw it straight into the charging martial artist's path . . .

Only then did the Dark Knight recall the last crime he had investigated: a certain string of thefts committed by an improbably skilled cat burglar . . .

The burgundy piece of lingerie - which he had been quite hopeful to find some trace of DNA evidence on - fluttered uselessly through the air. The Batman wasn't certain what would be more painful, the incoming pummeling, or the damage to his reputation if this little mishap got out-

"Sweeto!"

Happosai latched onto the pair of panties like a lamprey, hugging the piece of . . . evidence to his chest with a disturbing amount of passion.

Batman could only stare for a moment as the incredibly powerful and dangerous warrior apparently seemed to just . . . forget that they were in the midst of a life and death struggle. He strongly considered attacking the ancient pervert while he was distracted, but it hardly seemed very sporting.

But still, there was a life at stake-

Both warriors were suddenly knocked from their feet when, without warning, an eruption of brilliant pink energy blasted up from the street. The towering torrent of neon power ripped open a new chasm in the street even larger than the one that had been created already, and the soaring stream of light continued to rise into the air for several long seconds before it finally began to subside and vanish back into the cavernous pit.

Several seconds after that, the familiar gray form of Killer Croc slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the pavement even further.

Slowly, Batman and Happosai rose to their feet, at a loss as they stared at the scene of destruction.

Several silent moments later, another figure appeared through the new aperture. The slim female landed in a crouch from her graceful leap out of the septic abyss, holding the pose for several long seconds, apparently catching her breath, before finally rising to her feet.

Instantly, a dozen spotlights from a dozen news copters centered in on the young woman, revealing a dramatic change in her attire. Where before she had been wearing a dark one piece dress and long stripped stockings, the girl's mid riff and legs were left completely exposed as her dress had somehow been reduced to little more than a halter top and a micro skirt, and her silly looking stockings were nowhere to be found.

Oh, and her dress was smoking fairly heavily, both the grey wisps of ash and her flowing pink hair blowing dramatically in the wind generated by the numerous news choppers.

Slowly, the Dark Knight turned to his atypical associate. "What did you say her name was again?"

The shameless smile adorning the wizened warrior's face was impossible to miss. "That's my Jinx. Heh, I told you she'd be able to handle your circus sideshow."

Batman could only shake his head.

"I think the Titan's should know about this."

Happosai's chuckle sounded like the rustling of autumn leaves.

"Oh, don't you worry, sonny boy. They will."

The first thing she perceived was the darkness. The intimately familiar, soul crushing darkness which haunted the half of her dreams that weren't bathed in flames. Instantly, Terra's eyes flashed open, unable to stand the numbing abyss for even a single second longer. At which point, she was made aware of the agonizing amount of pain wracking most of her body.

The slight blonde let out a weak groan as she dragged herself to her knees, struggling to draw breath into her lungs. It felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her when she'd been pummeled, but she was more than used to the sensation so she didn't panic, rather she did her best to focus past the pain and breathe.

Able to do little more than sit there, wheezing, Terra finally took the time to take in her surroundings once more.

The sight of a four foot kid battling an eight foot mechanical monstrosity made the geokinetic hero wonder if she were still unconscious and was dreaming. Luckily, before she actually thought to pinch herself, she recalled that Ryouga had that strange curse thing that turned him into a kid. She hadn't seen his curse activated in weeks, but that first time was still pretty vivid in her memory.

Sadly, the battle was going just about as well as one would expect a battle between an eight year old and a robotic power suit.

Not nearly as fast as he was in his normal body, kid Ryouga failed to evade a quick jab from Adonis. The glancing blow clipped the fang's kid's shoulder and sent him spinning like a top, only to crash to the ground in a heap over a dozen feet away.

The startled gasp of pain that Ryouga gave out when he hit the ground shocked Terra to her core. Were she not already breathless, she would have cried out herself. He hadn't cried out once the entire fight, not even when he was slamming into every piece of metal on the way down here, but minor hit like that was enough to hurt him now?

Rather than chase him down, the armor plated antagonist just let out a boisterous laugh. "Stupid brat! Your buddy wasn't strong enough to hurt me, so what are you even thinking?"

Letting out an inarticulate growl, Ryouga dragged himself to his feet. Fury twisting his young face in a way that twisted Terra's heart, the child-like martial artist suddenly crossed his arms tightly across his chest in a familiar gesture.

"Shishi Houkodan!"

The aura of viridian light which sprung up around the young fighter before swirling down into a compact sphere which floated before his chest gave Adonis just enough warning to cross his arms in front of his face.

Ryouga's chi blast crashed over the massive criminal in a wave of power. Terra was actually shocked as Adonis was sent skidding backwards a few yards, heels digging deep furrows in the pavement. She'd thought that Raven had said his energy attack was getting weaker, not stronger.

Adonis lowered his arms, studying Ryouga warily for a moment, before grunting in annoyance. "I don't know what the hell that was, but it ain't enough to stop Adonis!"

Even as Terra rose to her feet, finally regaining control of her breathing, Ryouga simply ducked his head and charged back in, letting out a high pitched war cry with every step.

The two combatants collided like a fly hitting a windshield. With Adonis stampeding forward to meet his charge, Ryouga slammed into his chest at a solid thirty miles an hour - in an instant, the fanged martial artist was launched backwards at the same velocity. Terra could only cringe as he rag dolled across the ground before grinding to a stop once more.

Terra began to move forward to help her friend, unable to bear the sight of her cursed mentor struggling to regain his feet, only to stop in confusion. Halfway to his feet, still resting heavily on one knee, Ryouga pulled out his communicator and growled into it. "Beast Boy, what the hell is the hold up?"

Even from the distance, Terra could still make out Beast Boy's frantic reply, "Dude! You didn't exactly leave me a lot to work with in here. Just keep that jerk away from Terra till I get there!"

Nodding fiercely, Ryouga stowed the disc away again. Standing back up, the young warrior's hands curled into tiny little fists. In response to his grim determination, Adonis simply crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.

"You just don't get it, do you? I didn't get so much as a dent falling, like, eight stories. You can't hurt me."

Eyes narrowing, Ryouga actually nodded in agreement. "Your armor is really tough . . ." With a fluid motion, he slid his hand up behind his head and wrapped his fingers around the glossy black handle of the slim ebony umbrella strapped to his back.

Ryouga swung the umbrella out before him, holding it like a fencer might a foil. "However . . . that armor doesn't cover you entire body, does it?"

A dark sneer formed on Ryouga's face, an expression which was doubly disturbing to be seen on a child. Then, with a loud click -

A razor sharp length of steel slid from the tip of the umbrella.

The deadly intent so blatantly displayed Ryouga's face combined with the simple, elegance of the bladed umbrella was enough to set both Adonis and Terra, herself, back a step.

"Ryouga!" Terra shouted, appalled.

Instantly, the blade vanished back from whence it came and the fanged fighter spun to stare at her, a bizarre mixture of relief and apprehension on his face. Moving with all speed, Ryouga was at her side in a flash. "T-Terra, you're alright? I thought - thought -"

Terra frowned darkly at the deceptively old kid . . . but found it impossible to keep up the angry expression in light of the adorably shameful look on Ryouga's childlike face. Eventually, her scowl softened and she shook her head reproachfully. "Yeah, it's pretty obvious what you were thinking. But I'm alright, so no need to . . . over react."

The unnaturally young martial artist gave another nod, this one decidedly sheepish. "Um, yeah . . . sorry about that. I'm not exactly good with dealing with frustration."

Terra rolled her eyes, doing her best to hide her conflicted emotions.

"Man, you two are freakin' psycho, did you know that? Are you guys sure you're Titans at all?" Adonis called out loudly. The mechanically clad criminal stared at them incredulously. "How do they even let half sane maniacs like you on their team?"

The blonde geokinetic considered the narcissistic jerk for a moment before smirking. "That's why there's two of us. Between the pair of us we have just enough sanity to do something as insane as being super heroes."

Terra then turned to Ryouga, her smile growing. "Speaking of crazy, I think I have a plan."

Ryouga smiled in relief. "It's about time someone thought of something. Now, all I need is B-"

A sudden spray of steaming water doused Ryouga, instantly reverting him to his teenage form. Terra's eyes nearly bugged out at the unexpected change, but Ryouga simply smiled, looking much more comfortable and pointed up.

Looking up, Terra smiled widely at the sight of a bright green pelican standing a few stories above them. A moment later, the bird changed back to the familiar changeling they all knew and . . . liked. Beast Boy instantly stuck out his tongue and began to wave at it frantically while unsuccessfully crying out 'hot, hot, hot!'

"Alright then," stated Ryouga happily, "So what's the plan?"

Floating high above the continuing battle . . . Starfire finally allowed her brilliantly glowing eyes to dim down to their usual emerald hue. She had been terrified for a moment that she might have been forced to intervene . . . and not in favor of her friends.

Where had Ryouga acquired that umbrella? She had never thought on it before, due to the pedestrian appearance of the implement, but she did not recall seeing it in his possession prior to his revival of Terra.

Even now, as the newly restored Ryouga and Terra turned back to regard the crimson criminal after their brief huddle, the Tamaranian found her gaze lingering on the unnerving onyx umbrella which hung from her friend's back.

Why would he choose to use such a blatantly lethal weapon as opposed to the more utilitarian device which Cyborg had made for him?

. . . Well . . . barring the flamethrower in his umbrella, anyway.

She would need to talk to her beloved friend about this . . . but Robin and Raven did not need to know of his small . . . slip. Not yet, at any rate.

Jinx couldn't remember a time that she'd felt so utterly exhausted. Not at any point during her distinguished enrolment at the H.I.V.E. academy, not during her harrowing training sessions with Ryouga. Not even her night long marathons of chasing Happosai from one corner of a city to the other had left her feeling as drained as she was at this moment.

Of course, with all of the helicopters circling over head, the sorceress forced herself to stay on her feet. She'd never fired off such an enormous blast before and frankly, she hoped she'd never have to do so again. It had sucked that much.

The gentle caress of the night's wind caused a soothing shiver to run down her damp skin, but she loved every second of the clean, fresh air. Unfortunately she knew she'd probably be smelling of sewer for weeks to come, but for just this moment, the helicopter generated downdraft blew the errant odors away.

Jinx only allowed her to enjoy her freedom for a moment before turning her attention back to the collapsed form of Killer Croc. He hadn't moved, asides from the gentle rising and lowering of his broad chest, but she wasn't nearly so naïve as to go over and jab him with her toe to check whether he was actually unconscious.

"Yo, Croc, you dead, or are we gonna finish this thing already?"

For a moment . . . nothing. Then, a deep groan emanated from her opponent's throat. It took somewhat longer for the beast to stagger to his feet before he finally turned to glare hatefully at her.

". . . Why . . . Why? Why are you doing this to me? Who the hell are you?" Croc cried out, almost plaintively.

For a moment, Jinx felt a twinge in her conscience; she knew all too well the pain of being thwarted by do-gooders . . . but then she recalled that she didn't really care about other people's problems, especially those of psychotic cannibal freaks that had tried to eat her face.

"Does it really matter who beats you down, Croc? If it wasn't me, you know it would'a been the Bat. You should've known that you were pretty much destined to fail here." Jinx began to circle around her opponent, a frown beginning to curve her lips. She wasn't certain why she'd said what she'd just said, but it had struck a little closer to home than she would have expected.

When was the last time she'd actually come out ahead when it came to fighting heroes, teen or otherwise? The only decisive victory she'd had in recent memory had been when her and Happosai had taken on Blockbuster back in Bludhaven.

Jinx quickly shook her head. She didn't like where that line of thought was going at all, and banished it from her mind.

Apparently Croc didn't like her insinuations either, his entire body vibrating with rage as he stared at her.

It was likely only a matter of seconds before he attacked again, so Jinx took in her surroundings as best as she could without taking her eyes off of him. Vehicles lined the street, warehouses stood tall in every direction and cargo cranes towered into the night's sky.

Not exactly much to work with.

Several seconds later, her sadly predictable attacker charged forward, claws leading the way. Thankfully he didn't seem to be in much better shape than her. His rush was haphazard, nearly as much stumbling to and fro as it was a straight line.

It gave the exhausted girl enough time to roll to the side, though she cried out when she rolled over her slashed shoulder. She swallowed the pain, just as Happi had taught her, and flipped back up to her feet quickly. The sorceress then spun and fired off a hex at Killer Croc.

The hex, barely more than a pink spark, went high, soaring over Croc's head. In response, he spun on her at tried to crush her in a bear hug, which she escaped by leaping straight up. Planting a foot on his convenient face, she pushed off and forced Croc to stumble backwards before he could catch his balance.

Flipping nimbly through the air, she landed several yards away, stumbling awkwardly herself, and fired off another pair of insignificant hexes. Croc ducked, nearly falling forward, and the projectiles flew past his head, the pair of sparks lighting up both sides of his face in a macabre dance pink, red and grey.

They continued this frantic, desperate and ultimately sloppy dance until Jinx's muscles all but screamed in agony. Her already depleted reserves were now so drained that spots were beginning to dance across her vision, but she forced herself to keep firing off minor hex after minor hex, regardless of the fact that most of them missed the criminal, some of them by embarrassing margins.

Finally, she got a chance to make some space between them. Croc overextended himself on his last attack and ploughed face first into a parked transport trailer. It gave Jinx the opportunity to break out into a staggering run back to the center of the street. Making sure she was far enough away, Jinx turned to face her opponent and dropped to her knees, breaths coming in ragged bursts.

For his part, Croc dragged himself to his feet, digging his claws into the steel of the truck to do so. The scaled criminal took a moment to take a few desperately needed breaths of his own as he stared at her.

"T-this - *hssk* - this is over . . . kid."

And then, intent on matching word to deed, Killer Croc began to lumber forward one last time. Jinx just stared at the massive criminal as he loped forward, watched the sleek interplay of muscle just beneath his scaled skin as he surged forward.

Slowly, Jinx nodded to herself.

"For once, Croc . . . I totally agree with you . . ."

And then she snapped her fingers.

Adonis studied the pair of Titan's uncertainly as they huddled together and spoke in hushed tones. He knew he should really be attacking them, but, at the same time, he was more than a little leery of the pair. Between the guy pulling a shiv on him, and the girl threatening to shake the entire damn plant down around them . . .

These two weren't at all like the Titan's he had been expecting to run into, there was a . . . a darkness in these two he wasn't sure that even he himself possessed. It had only become prevalent when one had thought the other was hurt, but still . . . Oh, and what the heck had been with that water thing? The guy had been the kid? Was that supposed to be some kind of super power or something? Because it sure seemed like a crappy one. Really, this whole fight was making no sense and it was worrying him no end.

Adonis was seriously considering taking this moment to make his escape.

Unfortunately, he let his contemplation run too long, and the pair broke from their huddle and turned to regard him, predatory grins on their faces. Not sure what to make of this new development, Adonis took an uncertain step backwards.

"Unh-unh-unh," clucked the young blonde chidingly.

The no-longer young guy offered him a fanged grin. "Yeah, we wouldn't be doing our job if we let you get away."

The girl nodded knowingly. "That's right. We have a nice comfy prison cell for you. First things first, we need to get you outta here so we don't wreck this place up anymore than we already have."

Now, that was going too far for Adonis. It was one thing to threaten him, but to mock him with stupid banter like that? Cracking his mechanical knuckles menacingly, he set himself into a wide stance. "Alright, that's it. You guys might have tried to freak me out with this psycho sibling thing you got going on, but please allow me to reiterate: You punks aren't strong enough to beat Adonis!"

Annoyingly, the blonde brat shrugged and nodded. "You might be right. You are pretty ridiculously strong and all, of course, sometimes, being strong just doesn't help."

Adonis stared at her strangely. "What the heck are you talking about, girl? You're getting loopier by the second here."

Terra chuckled in amusement. "Let me show you."

She then clapped her hands together tightly, before dropping to her knees and slapping her palms to the ground.

An instant later, Adonis let out a cry of shock as the very earth beneath his feet began to buckle and churn as if alive. Before he had a chance to do anything about it, his feet began to sink into the dirt, now as loose and flowing as quicksand.

"W-what the heck are you doing?" he shouted out in shock.

The blonde shook her head. "Just proving a point. Say, how's that super strength working for you right now?"

Adonis let out an inarticulate snarl as he continued to sink. None of his flailing helped him, in fact, it only made the pit trap swallow him up all the faster. All too soon, the sand reached his hips, then his waist, then his chest. He tried to push down against the ground, but his arms simply sunk in as well, leaving him helpless.

Finally, when the roiling sands reached his chin, his descent stopped. Unfortunately, he didn't even have time to curse at his would be captors when something else happened. Though it was hard to tell through his suit, he felt something clamp down on his foot. Before he knew it, he was suddenly being dragged forward, soil and pavement giving way before him as he was pulled through the earth.

A frantic look behind him showed the fanged guy keeping pace a few yards back at a sprint and the girl surfing beside him on an upraised platform of rock.

"What are you guys doooiiiiiinnnnn?"

At the rate they were moving, they were out of the facility in a matter of minutes, and another minute after that, his head tore through the chain link fence which marked the chemical plant boundary.

Just when Adonis thought he was going to choke on the dirt getting thrown up into his face, he was suddenly launched skyward. His entire world went topsy-turvy for a moment as he rag dolled helplessly through the air, only to be set painfully straight when he slammed mercilessly to the ground.

It was with a pained groan that the power suited criminal began to push himself up to his knees -

Only to let out a surprised shriek when he was suddenly slammed face first into the ground again. Looking awkwardly over his shoulder, he saw the bandanna wearing jerk standing on his back, smirking in an infuriating manner. In surge of power, Adonis pushed himself straight up onto his feet, swinging wildly with his other arm to pulverize the impertinent pest.

Unfortunately, his swing went wide and the martial artist vanished from sight as Adonis spun around clumsily from the force of his own attack. When he finally came to a stop, he spun around desperately to find his nemesis . . .

Only to pause when he found, not the guy, but the young blonde kneeling down on the dirt a dozen or so yards away from him, a creepy little smile on her face. Confused, but still furious, Adonis took a lumbering step forward, intent on crushing her like an ant.

Rather than jump to her feet and flee in terror, though, the girl simply leaned forward, as calm as calm could be, and tapped her finger to the ground.

Just as her finger touched the earth, the blonde Titan quietly said something that sounded strangely like:

"Bakusai Tenketsu."

And just like that, Adonis was airborne again. The ground beneath his feet exploded upwards with all the sound and fury of a bomb. Even as he tumbled through the air, debris pummeled him from every side and a choking cloud of dust stung his eyes and blocked vision.

His impromptu flight seemed to take an eternity, concepts like 'up and down' and 'time' becoming fuzzy as he fell, but finally he smashed to the ground again. Adonis didn't even wait for his head to stop spinning before leaping back to his feet. He swayed back and forth for a moment as soon as he was up, but shook his head furiously and began to charge forward blindly. He knew that damn girl was out there somewhere, and as soon as he was out of this damn cloud he'd-

Run headlong into Ryouga's clenched fist! The force of the punch was enough to stop Adonis dead in his tracks, and he glared down at the smaller fighter incredulously.

"What the hell is going on here?" Adonis barked hoarsely.

The fanged fighter chuckled wickedly. "Just softening you up a bit, that's all."

Ryouga then proceeded to duck back out of reach of Adonis' tired backhand before suddenly zipping back forward and laying into him with a blindingly fast series of punches.

The armored criminal wasn't sure what to make of the assault. First of all, despite the speed of his strikes, even combined they didn't have the power to so much as set Adonis back a step. Then, whenever Adonis tried to punch or kick the guy, rather than break off, he just slipped out of the way and then *bam*, was right back in, tapping away.

And why did it look like the guy was counting silently to himself? What was he up to now . . . 'eight'?

Ryouga continued to dance around him for another few moments, only to stop suddenly and take a short leap back just as he mouthed the word 'ten'. Then, smile only widening, the martial artist suddenly crossed his arms over his chest again, a dim glow already beginning to form.

Adonis' eyes widened and he quickly lifted his arms up over his face again. He knew what that meant. He had no idea what the hell that big glowy attack had been, but it stung like hell!

"Shishi Houkodan!"

Adonis braced himself as much as he possibly good, vainly trying to prepare himself for the searing . . .

. . . tingle that washed over him? The same green light washed over him - actually, it was far more bluish than greenish this time - but this time it washed over him like a gentle breeze. Blinking his eyes a few times to recover from the blinding light, Adonis slowly lowered his arms and looked around. It took him a few seconds to readjust to the dim lighting of the night sky, and the first thing he saw . . .

Was Terra standing a good fifty feet away from him; worryingly, her eyes were now glowing a brilliant yellow color . . . the same way they'd been glowing when she'd threatened to shake the entire chemical plant down to its foundation.

Despite having been literally upside down and turned around by this pair of psychos, Adonis knew that that could not be a good sign. He quickly began to backpedal, desperate to get further away from the deranged elementalist.

Unfortunately, he only made it a few steps before Terra lifted her hands high above her head in a grand gesture and yelled out:

"STONAMI!"

The result, though sadly predictable, was still ridiculously impressive. Even as the earth tore itself to pieces, rising up into a colossal wave of stone and dirt which bore down on him with terrifying speed, Adonis had only time to mutter-

"Oh, sh-"

It took Ryouga a few minutes to dig up most of Adonis, but the big lug was pretty much right where Terra said he would be. Taking a second to toss another sizeable boulder off of the pinned criminal, the martial artist knelt down beside Adonis and offered him a fanged grin.

Adonis, rubble covering everything but his chest and face, glared back up at him blearily. The shoulder of the criminal's suit gave off a high pitched whine and shuddered for a second before grinding to a halt once more.

"You think burying me is gonna stop me?" the entombed villain barked. "As soon as I reroute power in my suit, I'm gonna break outta this dirt pile and beat you into paste!"

Ryouga found himself shaking his head sadly. "So much strength, and not an iota of self control. If you weren't such a jackass, I could probably sympathize. As it is, though-"

Leaning over the martial artist carefully rested his hands onto the bulky chest plate of Adonis' armor, setting all his weight on his fingertips, all spread out equidistantly.

Adonis stared at him incredulously. "What are you up to? Gonna molest me into submission? You should already know that you aren't strong enough to hurt me - no one is as strong as Adonis!"

Ryouga scowled darkly at that. He leaned forward, bringing his face only a few inches away from the villain's. "Didn't Terra already go over this part? Strength isn't everything. After all, if it was, would I be able to do this?"

And suddenly, Ryouga twisted his hands - and relished the shocked expression on Adonis' face as the entire chest plate crumpled up like a crushed beer can. His fingers sank into the collapsed metal easily, and with a savage tug, Ryouga tore the slab of armor right off and tossed it to the side. He then gleefully reached in and grabbed the human inside by the front of his jumpsuit and pulled him right out of the damn mechanical suit.

The martial artist snickered mercilessly at the slender figure of the young man he now held up. "Now, Mr. Adonis, why don't you show me just how strong you really are?"

Ryouga gave the slim villain a little shake, but for the first time that night, Adonis had nothing to say. Instead the cowed criminal hung his head and did his best to avoid eye contact. Smirking to himself, Ryouga shook his head. "Yeah, that's kind of what I thought."

And with that, he flung the armorless Adonis through the air, only for him to be caught in a stone fist a moment later.

Ryouga turned to glance at Terra, the young geokinetic beaming a smile for all the world to see as she held her hand up to mimic the stone fist that held their new prisoner.

"Well, my young student, it was a bit touch and go there for a bit, but it looks like we pulled it off in the end."

Terra nodded excitedly. "I know, right? We sucked it up pretty bad back there, but once we actually tried working together, it was cake!"

A deep blush tinted Ryouga's cheeks at that. "Um . . . yeah, well, I'm kinda use to fighting on my own . . . So, in a way, I guess this was a bit of a lesson for both of us."

His apprentice rolled her eyes in amusement before nodding. "Don't worry, I can sympathize. Still . . . Did we pass, or what?"

Ryouga looked to the imprisoned Adonis, then back to the chemical plant - still standing and not missing a single major structure - then back to Terra once more. A broad smile than pasted itself on his face.

"You're damn right we did!"

Robin allowed a satisfied smile to settle on his face as he watched the rest of his team congratulate Terra and Ryouga on their well deserved victory. To one side, Beast Boy and Terra were hopping up and down, holding hands and squealing like a pair of schoolgirls. On the other side, Cyborg was talking animatedly with Ryouga. And in the middle, Starfire was floating back and forth between the two pairs, offering congratulations with joyous abandon.

To his side, Raven had her hood pulled down tightly, he suspected in a vain attempt to hide the tiny little smile which quirked up the corner of her lips. Robin leaned in closer to the cloaked girl, his smile growing. "Looks like they did good, didn't they?"

The violet haired girl replied with a shallow nod.

"You know, I don't think anyone would think it amiss for you to wander over and say a word or two."

At that, Raven all but impaled him with a flat glance. "I'd prefer to do that later, if you don't mind, when I don' t have to compete with . . . that."

With a roll of her wrist, Raven gestured to the rather amusing sight of Cyborg, practically in tears, shaking Ryouga by the shoulders.

"Ryo, man, what the heck was that last move you did! That - that's just not fair, dude, you can't just destroy armor like that!"

Ryouga chuckled menacingly, holding up a single finger in a very telling manner. "Oh, but I can, Cy. You didn't think I was gonna leave things as they were after our last fight, did you?"

"But . . . but how, man?" Cyborg asked urgently.

Ryouga considered the request . . . then shrugged. "You know what . . . I'll tell you later. I want to see you stew on that one for a bit before I spoil the surprise."

Robin just shook his head at the crestfallen expression which settled on the cyborg's face, then switched his attention back to Terra and Beast Boy's enthusiastic 'discussion.'

"I did it, Beast Boy, I really did it!"

"I knew you could do it, Terra, I totally knew it!"

"You really thought I could do it!"

"Are you kidding? Of course I knew you could do it!"

"Ahhh, Beast Boy! That's so sweet!"

Thankfully, before Robin could descend into a fit of diabetic shock, Terra leaned forward and crushed the lucky green teen into a tight hug before planting a chaste little kiss on his cheek, obviously caught up in the moment.

All threat of intelligent discussion from that area quickly died as Beast Boy was reduced to a gibbering pile of blissful putty in Terra's hands and the poor girl was left trying to figure out how to prop him up somehow.

At the sight, Raven rolled her eyes and began to drift back towards the T-Car. "I'll make certain that Adonis isn't going anywhere. Try to wrap things up here, would you? It's getting cold out, you know?"

Robin nodded and was about to reply . . . when suddenly his communicator began beeping. He looked at the device for a moment, then looked up to double check that all of his team mates were, indeed present, then back to the communicator. There weren't that many other people with communicators, and he doubted any of them would call unless it was an emergency.

Flipping it open quickly, Robin was surprised to see Kasumi's face in the tiny screen. Certainly, she had a communicator, but he didn't actually recall her ever using it before.

"Hey, Kasumi. Is there something wrong back at the tower?"

The older brunette smiled brightly and gave a tiny wave of her hand to ward off his concern. "No, no, not at all. I was just wondering if your little fight was going to be done soon, or not. You see, I just received a video from someone that I think everyone might want to see . . ."

Robin raised a curious eyebrow at the news.

"It was sent by a nice man calling himself Mr. . . . 'Batman', was it?"