Dark Titans – Arc 5 - Pre Wedding Jitters

Epilogue - Part 2/3

Enjoy if you Will, Tolerate if you won't.

"There, I think that should do it."

Kasumi took a step back to admire her handy work. The bandages were wrapped neat and tidy, just as Doctor Tofu had taught her so long ago. The topical cream applied to the boy's shoulders should do its work well, provided he didn't exert himself recklessly for a time.

The tall brunette rolled her eyes. As if that would happen.

Her declaration failed to evoke any response from her patient. Speedy continued to stare glumly at his knees, perched on the examination table.

"So," she began conversationally, "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you? I've been told I'm a good listener."

He shook his head, his short red hair swishing back and forth amusingly. "I… I just got some really bad news. I don't really want to talk about it."

Kasumi sighed. He must be referring to his falling out with the police. She'd received the notice early that morning that the Titan's computer was being disconnected from all Law Enforcement systems. A breach of trust that large must be weighing heavily on the young archer's mind.

Nodding, she decided to leave him to his ruminations for now. Exiting the Medical Bay, she decided to make her way to the Main Room. Maybe watching a few of the shows she promised to record for Terra would make her feel better.

Honestly, she couldn't help but feel partially responsible for Speedy's current mood.

Of course, most of the blame laid squarely on his inability to stop lodging his own foot firmly in his own mouth. Kasumi giggled at that thought. For the longest time, she had thought that Robin had reminded her a bit of Ranma, so dedicated and driven in his arts, but after meeting Speedy, with his cocky attitude, brash demeanor, and seemingly complete lack of common sense, well, the comparisons made themselves.

In fact, now that she thought about it, the moody Robin, prone to his tunnel vision and deeply held grudges, had more in common with Ryouga. And the contrast between the arrogant archer and the angsty acrobat was all the more amusing in that it was Robin that was learning the Chestnut Fist and had established a wide lead over his rival. Maybe, just for her own amusement, when Ryouga got back, she should convince him to teach Speedy the Breaking Point?

That would be fun on several levels.

Honestly, who needed television when you had friends like these?

She prepared to make a lie of her previous statement, picking up the tv remote and readying to drop her posterior onto the couch, when the phone rang.

This perplexed the rehabilitating homemaker, as she didn't actually recall there being a phone in this room. Most everyone in the tower got contacts on their communicators or via messages from the computer or talked to on the big screen. Was it a personal phone, or a work phone?

Another ring.

Oh, right! Moving with haste, she dropped the remote and made her way to the large console. Luckily, there was a large flashing light identifying an old-style phone and she quickly picked it up.

"Hello, Titan residence."

"Uh, hi… I was looking for Speedy. Who is this?"

Well, that was interesting. A mature sounding woman looking for Speedy and using a voice distorter as well. Perhaps the young archer had a type?

"My name is Kasumi. I'm staying with the Titans."

"Kasumi…" She could hear the person on the other end of the line tapping something loudly, maybe a pen? "Oh, right! You're one of the recent influx from Japan. You're involved with that Ryouga guy, right?"

Kasumi felt her cheeks tinge at the blatant insinuation. "Oh my, no. I'm not in a relationship with Ryouga. I find younger men to be… troublesome."

"Heheh. You and me both - wait! I didn't mean it like that! I meant that you were working with Ryouga, and that Ranma guy, before you came to America, right?"

"Well, that is certainly one way to put it," she replied with the barest hint of sarcasm.

"I think that you and I really need to have a nice, long chat sometime. I have so many questions about you and your friends. Unfortunately, I'm on the clock at the moment. Is Speedy there?"

The eldest Tendo sister wondered just how much she would enjoy such a conversation. She had a strange feeling that it would be very one directional.

"I'm quite sorry, but he's indisposed at the moment. He had… something of a rough night."

"Did he have another run in with our mystery girl, Red X?" the equally mysterious caller gave an annoyed grunt. "You'd think he would have thought to call in some backup. Probably too hopped up on testosterone to even think he'd need help fighting a girl."

"Well, boys will be boys. It wouldn't be fair to expect anything different." To be fair, she wasn't sure that any of the young people she knew, boy or girl, could stomach the idea of asking anyone for help. That was martial artist pride for you… she was sure it was fine. After all, her father turned out normal

She caught herself pensively chewing her lip.

"You're not wrong. Anyway, I just wanted to fill in the adorkable archer on the invite status for his party."

"Oh," Kasumi felt an increasingly familiar feeling welling up in her chest. "Speedy asked you for help organizing his party?"

"Yeah, the guy pretty much blackmailed me." The mystery woman laughed a touch darkly. "Though, I have to say, it was actually a good excuse to get in touch with a lot of people I haven't talked to in awhile. I've been a bit of a recluse lately."

"So, does that mean you have an idea of how many people might be planning to attend?" Perhaps she could take advantage of the nice woman's call after all. You couldn't actually start planning a party properly until you knew how many people would be attending. "After all, I'm helping Speedy with his little party as well."

"Hey, that's great!" The muffled sounds of typing away at a keyboard came over the line. "Honestly, I'm surprised at the response. I've got a few dozen people excited to come out for the night."

A few dozen? Well that would certainly be exciting. Not as eventful as their Christmas party, at least one could hope so. Then again comparing the rather colorful people back home to the young heroes she knew, this might just turn out to be the nice relaxing, intimate get together she had always wanted.

There was a thoughtful pause. "Say, have you heard of the Titans East? Aren't two of their members also from your group back in Japan? What do I have here… Blue Thunder and… Shining Spatula? Sheesh, that girl needs a PR department, and fast."

Kasumi giggled in amusement. It seemed like Ukyou was having as many issues coming up with a decent hero name as Ryouga was. "Oh, does that mean that they accepted the invitations?"

"Their leader, Bumblebee, gave a strong, definite maybe."

She nibbled on the end of her thumb tersely. While she didn't mind Tatewaki coming, he'd been little Nabiki's friend for so long that he was nearly family, she wasn't so thrilled at the idea of the Okonomiyaki chef attending.

Though she would never admit it, Kasumi did not love everyone as equally as she might appear to; she had people she liked and disliked, just like everyone else. Deep down, Ukyou was, by far, her least favorite of Ranma's fiancées. Just as Ryouga was her favorite among his playmates.

And it was the same event that had cemented her opinion on them both. She thought back, fondly, to their eventful adventure to the legendary island of Togenkyo. Uncle Genma had been kind enough to explain some of the events that had happened shortly after the strange servants of Prince Toma had kidnapped her.

He had told her how Ryouga and himself had scoured a large portion of the island searching for her. She remembered smiling brightly as Uncle Genma told her about teasing Ryouga about ferocious 'man-eating octopi' and how frantic the gullible young Lost Boy had been to find her and save her, no matter the danger.

Her smile slipped as she remembered the follow up to that when Uncle Genma and Ryouga had stumbled across Ukyou on the beach. Upon learning that Kasumi had been kidnapped, the young chef hadn't even thought to help, and, in fact, ignored their warnings completely as she planned to take advantage of Kasumi's abduction just to get closer to Ranma!

Kasumi had never said a word to anyone regarding the incident, hidden it all behind a pleasant smile, but from that day on, she had always known, deep in the back of her mind, exactly how much she mattered to certain people. Was it petty? ...Probably, but still, she was only human.

"-orry, are you still there?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden question.

"Oh my! I'm so sorry, I was distracted for a moment. Anyway, why don't you let me know details of what you told all of our guests, so I can know when we can plan to start expecting people."

"Heh, well, I can tell you what I told them, but don't expect everyone to show up on time. Organizing a pack of hormonal teenage superheroes is a bit like herding cats."

The homemaker turned medical student turned party planner smiled widely as she began taking notes on her new friends' rather exhaustive list of potential attendees. My, but it seemed that she had been underestimating how many people Speedy would be able to convince to come.

Considering just how little that Speedy had managed to get accomplished, what with his extracurricular activities, it would certainly take a lot of work to get things properly prepared for such a large group. Luckily, she'd already taken care of a few things last night.

Oh, but she was going to be busy, what with making the final preparations, as well as making certain that Speedy kept up with his training. The poor boy needed as much help as he could get at this point.

It was certainly going to be an exciting couple of days.

The pink haired witch bounced with obvious excitement as she nattered on with the dark cowled figure that accompanied her. No doubt bragging like a plebeian about the petty mugger that she had just apprehended under to older man's guidance.

Unfortunately, Kodachi Kuno had yet to master the art of reading lips over great distances and could not determine the specifics of the vile peasant's conversation.

"Well, it looks like the information was actually good," muttered her partner, his enthusiasm lacking. She turned to regard the young man; his face hidden behind a slip of black fabric. He gestured towards the binoculars she was holding, and she passed them over so he could have a closer look as well.

"Considering what we paid for it, I would have been most… put out, if it had not proven true."

"Well, I admit, I had fully thought we'd been scammed. I mean, talk about too crazy to be true." He leaned over the ledge, focusing ever more closely on the pair. "But there's the Bat himself. I never would have guessed he'd willingly associate with a known criminal like her, beating up villains or not."

She let out a small laugh. "I am just satisfied that disgusting, perverted little troll isn't with her any longer." Her entire body shivered from head to toe at just the thought of her Dear Ranma's degenerate master. "I couldn't care less who her current companion is. Fate itself has seen fit to deliver my hated enemy into my hands. I do not plan to waste this opportunity."

Rising to her feet, she produced her ribbon and began to twirl the piece of fabric. It was time to deliver a proper declaration of challenge so that she could engage the pink haired witch in a perfectly fair duel to prove her inherent superiority.

Maybe just an extra dose of paralyzing powder up her sleeve for good measure.

She was about to leap from the roof, laughing joyously, when she was suddenly tugged back down, a hand on her wrist. She stared blankly at the owner of the hand for a moment.

"Your hand appears to be grasping my own," she blinked twice for good measure, just to confirm what she saw. "But that surely cannot be the case, as you have not previously stated a desire to be flung from the rooftop to an ignoble demise."

His hand pulled back as if her arm were a deadly viper, but he held her gaze regardless. At least this boy, while far short of her love's manliness, was not completely without spine.

"Look, are you cr-"

She narrowed her eyes and he instantly tripped over his words.

"I mean, don't you know who that is? This Jinx girl, she's just a punk kid, but that's the goddamn Batman! He takes down way nastier people than us on the regular."

Kodachi rolled her eyes elegantly. "I don't care how cursed this rodent man is by the Lord. He is no threat to one as skilled as myself."

"No, you don't-" he paused for a moment, "Wait, are you a Christian?"

"Of course not. I just attended an all girl's Catholic School."

Her companion seemed to stare off into nothing for a long moment, before giving his entire body a shake. "Oh God, that's so hot."

The Black Rose narrowed her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing! Nothing. Look, I'm not saying we don't take out pinky, here. We just need to find a way to separate the two. We just need to wait for our opening."

Kodachi rested against the ledge of the roof, considering her companion's words. He did know the region, and its occupants, better than her, she was forced to admit. And he did seem to have a strong opinion on this heretical bat man. Maybe being damned by God gave him some strange powers? There was a lot of that in mythology, gods punishing mortals by turning them into invincible killing machines. It never made any sense to her.

"Well, I suppose catching her alone would assure that it was a fair fight."

Her companion laughed quietly. "Hey now, I don't care about a fair fight, I prefer-"

She did not learn her partner's preferences, as he was suddenly interrupted by something quite startling.

Appearing, as if from thin air, a black clad hand slammed into the side of her companion's head, then drove it, face first, into the roof ledge with a sickening crunch. The dark figure then pulled her partner back up, blood soaking through his mask already, and casually tossed him back to the roof to land in a heap.

Kodachi couldn't tell if the young man was alive, or even how she should feel if he was not. Instead, a strange numbness washing over her, she turned to regard the perpetrator of the crime.

Standing before her, and towering over her, was a massive man still mostly cloaked in shadows. Even through the obfuscation, she could see that he was standing calmly, his arms folded behind his back, which only emphasized how broad his chest was. She could not see a face, rather just two slashes of color, orange and black, and a single eye staring back at her. Such an imposing visage, coupled with the brutal act of violence...

The Kuno heiress could only look away, clasping her hands to her face in shock.

So manly!

"Your companion is correct, though not for the reason you think."

The voice flowed into her ears like honey-coated velvet and she felt her heart skip a beat. Such a commanding voice, and so refined.

"You see…" There was a pause. "Excuse me, are you listening to me?"

The question snapped the gymnast from her daze. She coughed into her hand daintily to regain her composure.

"Of course. But I must say, you are acting quite familiar for someone that dared to attack an ally of the Black Rose!" She made certain to cultivate the proper fire in her words. If she were to regain the upper hand, she couldn't allow this mysterious man to continue to throw her off balance.

The stranger gave a low chuckle, before bowing down politely, swinging one of his arms before him. As he did, she was rewarded with a better view of him. He was large but was wearing pieces of dull grey armor on his shoulders that made him appear bulkier than he was. It was also clear now that he was wearing a metallic, two-toned mask over his face.

"I apologize. I do tend to get ahead of myself." He stood straight once more and lifted a hand to his chest. "You may call me Slade. And I am here because I believe that you have far too much potential to waste on prowling the night with common burglars."

Kodachi preened at the well-deserved praise. She knew, of course, of her own greatness, but it was all but impossible to find someone else lately that would admit to it as well. Well, no one that mattered, at any rate, such as Ranma. The opinion of her various cronies and underlings meant nothing to her.

Holding up her ribbon, she held it ready with the promise of violence. "You appear to have me at a disadvantage, Mr. Slade. Perhaps you can cut to the chase and let me know why you are really here?"

He nodded, calmly clasping his hands behind his back once more. "Very well. I am here for two reasons. The first, is to stop you from making a mistake. The second, is to make you an offer."

She narrowed her eyes, stretching one leg out before her and sweeping it to the side in preparation of attack. "Is that so? And, pray tell, what mistake could you possibly be saving me from?"

Obviously completely unconcerned with her threats, rather than answer straight away, Slade walked up to her side, so close that she could smell the acrid odor of steel and oil. He then gestured to the street where Jinx and the bat man were approaching a large black vehicle. The sight filled Kodachi with fury.

She will not escape me!

She spun and prepared to leap onto the ledge, only to be stopped by an outstretched arm barring her way. The Black Rose glared daggers at the armor-clad man next to her.

"As I said, your companion was correct. This is not a fight you can win, but not because the Batman is there."

The matter-of-factly way he spoke, his words dripping with experience and cold logic, gave her pause for a moment. She gave an angry swipe with the wand of her ribbon, insisting that he continue. He seemed to understand, swinging his blocking arm to gesture at the pink haired witch and her companion.

"The Batman has a fearsome reputation, but he is no real threat to one of your abilities." He shook his head, lowering his arm to clasp his hands once again behind his back. "It is Jinx that you need to worry about."

That caught her attention. "You know that harlot?"

He nodded curtly. "A long time ago – in a different life, one might say - I hired her to destroy my enemies. She failed, of course, but I know her talents well."

That was certainly interesting. A little insider information on an opponent was never a gift one should turn down. Laughing into her hand, she leapt up onto the ledge, but made no move to leap further.

"Then you should know that she is no match for myself. So, please, enlighten me as to why attacking the scrawny alley cat would be a mistake."

He gave another chuckle. "It's true, if you had fought Jinx at that time, it's quite possible you could have beat her. Though your fighting style is a bad matchup against her power, your physical abilities far exceeded her own."

The raven-haired gymnast graced her companion with a nasty look. "What do you mean 'at that time'?"

"I'm certain you saw the video, as have many others. You know who Jinx has been traveling with, who has been training her for these past months?"

She scoffed loudly. "The perverted troll? I know of the vile miscreant, as does any woman from Nerima. You expect me to believe that he was actually training a woman? From what I've heard, he can't even be bothered to train his own heir."

"And yet that is the case." Turning to face her now, his eye level with hers despite her new perch. "Her powers and her talents have both grown at a surprising pace. It would be folly for you to challenge her now."

Kodachi felt an icy pit opening within her stomach. She had never met this man before, had no idea who he was, or why he was doing any of this… and yet, every word he spoke held the ring of truth. Even she was forced to admit, with this infuriating man so inelegantly throwing it in her face, that she had recognized some of her dear Ranma's movements in Jinx's battle with that alligator man.

He had been no Mr. Turtle, that was for certain.

Giving a loud 'hmph' of annoyance, she turned away to stare into the darkness of the night. "Let us take you at your word then, though you have done nothing as of yet to have actually earned that modicum of trust. You said you came with an offer, as well as your warning. So, what could you possibly offer that would be of interest to myself?"

She wondered if he was smiling a sinister grin beneath his steel mask as he regarded her with that one cold eye. He tilted his head one way, then the next, apparently giving his answer much thought. Finally, he held out a single hand.

"I seek an apprentice. With that, I could make many hollow offers. Training, money, influence, all things that would come naturally from becoming my student… but we both know that none of those are a proper enticement to yourself." He lifted his hand higher, slowly curling his hand into a fist, the thick leather of his gloves creaking in protest. "So, I offer you the one thing, the only thing that has real value in this world."

A surge of searing flame engulfed the upraised fist.

"Power."

Kodachi watched the licking flames, enraptured. These were not the roiling energy of one's ki, or any other such manifestation of a battle aura that she knew of. No, Slade's hand was literally on fire, and yet was not being consumed. He released his fist, and instantly, the flames died away, leaving only a few wisps of smoke left curling from his glove.

Of course, it could be a trick. She knew many clever people; it was possible she could even create a similar effect within her own laboratory.

But she knew that was not the case. Kodachi could feel it now, the dull thrum of power that sang beneath the man's skin. There was no doubt that he could summon and dismiss those flames whenever and wherever he wanted, and likely more besides, much more.

The Black Rose stared Slade straight in the eye for a long time, she wasn't even certain how long, until, with as much elegance and dignity she could manage, she took a single step down, off of the ledge, to stand before him. Once again, he towered over her, and she could only glance to the side meekly.

"But, why would you choose me?"

Looking down at her, she almost imagined a glint of softness in his eye as he dropped a heavy hand on her shoulder, squeezing down firmly. "Who else could I have possibly chosen, but you?"

A wide smile stretched itself across the Black Rose's face. A pride borne of something beyond just her lineage, or her gymnastics skills swelled up within her. This man, this powerful, imposing stranger… he wanted her. Her, the loony gymnast that even her own delusional brother was ashamed of.

This… had never happened before.

She shot an errant glance to her side, to the collapsed figure of her former partner. "And what of him? Do we simply leave him here? Is - is he even alive?"

His answer came in the form of a question.

"Do you care?"

Kodachi allowed an entire second to deliberate the answer.

"So, when do I get to end the candy-coated coward with the winged rodent?"

He gave her shoulder another firm squeeze before releasing her and stepping back.

"A good question, but a perfect answer."

He turned to regard the scrawny witch and her caped companion, offering one last dismissive snort. "Don't worry, apprentice. I know exactly where you will be able to find her soon enough."

With that, he turned and gestured out towards the dark heart of the city.

"Now, it is time to take your first step on a new path; we have much to do."

Yes, a new path, one worthy of her, and suitable only for the Black Rose to walk. A journey to righteous vengeance and unknowable power. Nodding confidently, she took that first step.

"Yes… my master."

Jinx paused, one foot in the Batmobile. A sudden shiver ran all the way down her spine to the tips of her toes and her gaze was pulled to the roofs above them. Her caped companion looked at her expectantly from the driver's seat of the ridiculously over engineered sedan.

The pink haired sorceress gave her head a shake, sending her loose hair swinging about in a flurry of cotton candy.

"Did you hear that? I coulda swore I just heard some crazy laughter, or… something."

The Dark Knight stared at her, completely deadpan.

"It's Gotham… I always hear crazy laughter."

His response failed to provide her any sense of reassurance. Her gaze lingered on the roofs for another second, but nothing else followed. Finally, she shrugged and sat down into the passenger seat next to her temporary tutor in the not-quite-villainous arts.

"You know, you really need to work on your sense of humor. That wasn't nearly as funny as you think it was."

Batman didn't even look at her as he gunned the engine.

"Who said I was joking?"

With that, he threw the car into gear and swung them out onto the road, already breaking more traffic laws than Jinx ever had in her entire life. The witch, with her devil may care attitude and youthful sense of invincibility, once again found herself clutching the armrests and squeezing her eyes shut in mortal terror at her mentor's 'driving'.

"Hmm, we're running behind. We only have a few days left before we need to get you to Steel City." Suddenly Jinx felt a sense of dread settle into her stomach that made her forget the distant laughter completely. Something infinitely more terrifying taking its place in her mind.

Batman had almost sounded amused.

"We better pick up the pace."

The last thing Jinx remembered before the G-forces suddenly slammed her back into her seat, was a frenzied prayer.

'Please let me live till the weekend!'