A/N: I know I'm taking forever, but I'm really in depth with my new story Her Silent Scream for Yuyu Hakusho.
Disclaimer: .neeT snatiT oD I
Cyborg was the first to step out of the T- car. His eye glowed red as he checked out the house. The kids were in the basement. All clear. He nodded to the others, who had crowded around the T-car.
As one, the team began to move. They had known each other long enough to know exactly where they were going move next; which patch of grass Raven would surreptitiously not step on (the youngest, for she did not want to tread on something that had not had a chance at life yet) to when Starfire would begin to float instead of walking (in the middle of the yard, as they grew closer to the house, her nerves began working up). Cyborg reached the door first, holding the screen open from the inside, all the while making sure that his eye was working furiously as he did so.
Robin motioned for the others to stay quiet as they entered the yellow house. They entered through a living room. There was a large television and a lot of chairs and cushions scattered about the floor. It looked like a cheap theater. Or a cult. The next room, the kitchen, was completely deserted. Ignoring the fact that it was void of any dust; the room looked like it had never had a living occupant.
Cyborg opened the door where the pantry should have been. A narrow set of steps descended into a dark basement. He activated the small light on his shoulder and renewed Robin's motion for the others to remain quiet. They went down the old wooden steps, which groaned under the weight. They were in the basement, styled in the old way so there were no walls; the room was basically carved out of the ground. There was a small space to the left of the steps, leading to underneath the rotted staircase. The only other way to go was through a door. As one, the team moved forward. Cyborg's hand brushed the handle…
"AHHHH!!"
Everyone turned to glare at Beast Boy, who was fighting with a cat. Not two seconds later, the door burst open. In front of them stood a heavily breathing Control Freak. His eyes widened.
"Teen Titans! They're here!" he screeched at the top of his lungs.
"Get them!" A voice from the room ordered.
A bunch of teenagers rushed at them. For a few minutes, Cyborg dealt with punching the kids in the gut and knocking them out, careful to not hurt them permanently. The space was too confined for anything else, anyway.
Amid the triumphant yelps of the teenagers and the grunts of his companions as they tried not to hurt anyone too terribly while keeping their own lives, a sickening thought occurred to Cyborg. Control Freak was not much of a problem, but Johnny Rancid was not above taking one of the kids hostage.
"Guys! We gotta get these kids outta here!" He yelled above the noise while twisting some girl's arm behind her back.
"Titans! Retreat!" Robin yelled.
Reluctantly, the Titans moved upstairs and Cyborg blasted their way to the street.
"Stop here!"
The cab stopped nearly on a dime. Kale felt slightly bad about scaring the poor man so, but it was for the best. She got out of the cab and turned to thank the driver, but as soon as her leg was out, the tires screeched and the car was roaring down the street. Shrugging, Kale turned her attention back to what was important. Her friends and the kids.
Kale realized half a second later that she could hear them, but she could not see them. When she saw Cyborg's blast go past her, she dove behind what remained of the fence. The Titans pulled out of the house and grouped together, back to back, for the oncoming attack. More than fifty kids surrounded them.
Kale spotted Hal and Jack in the midst of the chanting kids, noticing that they looked slightly uneasy about what was going on. She dove into the crowd and looked very much like the rest of the kids. Suddenly she was very glad that Starfire had taken to buying more and more human clothes over the years.
Sneaking up behind the boys, she clapped a hand over Hal's mouth. Despite his age and that he was about six inches taller than her, Kale was able to overpower him and pull him behind the fence before Jack noticed anything. She repeated the move on Jack (who put up more of a struggle, but still was beaten) and she stood before them, arms crossed.
"Start talking," she ordered shortly.
"What are you going to do about it, huh?" sneered Jack. He tried to get back up, but was quickly pushed back down.
Kale suddenly remembered something from her past. Before she knew what she was doing, she leaned down. She frowned and thought for a moment before she reached out her hand. She used her thumb to put pressure on Jack's shoulder where the bones met. Jack cried out in pain, and Kale clapped her free hand over his mouth.
She growled, "I might not remember much about my past, but I do remember I can do this." She increased the pressure, feeling remorseful about his pain but knowing it was necessary. "Now, unless you want a dislocated shoulder, sweetie, you'll tell me everything that I want to know."
"Uhh…. We remembered Johnny Rancid from when he used to hang out with you a few years ago," Hal blurted out. He received a glare from Jack, but it was only half-hearted.
Kale felt a pang of guilt as she realized that had she never gotten… involved with Johnny, the boys would probably never have been in this mess. Slowly, she removed both hands from Jack's body.
The boy sighed then swore. He continued with Hal's beginning. "He got a bunch of us to join his group, saying he would help us take down the Titans and keep the city the way we wanted it at the same time. We got more and more involved and he kept telling us how things would be in time. But some of us got to thinking that what we were doing was wrong, or that it would not work cause the Teen Titans kept fixing whatever we did. Anyone who tried to leave disappeared."
Kale sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know you are al really stupid."
Hal whimpered, "Yeah, but we didn't want to disappear."
Kale looked at him. "You should have went to the very people you despised if you wanted a change. When you needed help, you could have gone to them. Or the police. Or me! There were so many options left to you it's ridiculous for you to even think to use that excuse." Her face softened as the boys hung their heads. "Tell you what, to redeem yourself go into that crowd right now and find anyone who will leave. Tell them that they will not disappear. Don't worry and don't get yourselves caught."
The boys nodded eagerly and left the alley. Kale watched them melt back into the crowd. The kid's roaring grew as they went into frenzy, but did not act on their whims. They were waiting for a signal.
Kale went out and melted into the crowd. She felt someone's eyes on her as she slipped into the house. She did not want to think that it was who she thought it was. She heard a cackling from downstairs. She went into the kitchen and quietly went down the steps, ignoring the cat that hissed and spat at her on her way down. She put an eye to the door and listened.
"… and soon the entire city will be ours! Mwhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha."
"Shut up." Came Johnny Rancid's voice. A boot kicked Control Freak in the head, "I've got a job for you. Go tell the kids…"
"Hey! I'm no lackey! I'm an evil advisor," Control Freak injected angrily.
There was a gurgle and Control Freak was lifted into the air, leaving his feet to dangle helplessly. Kale winced. When she had known Johnny, he had been nice, if a little extreme. Now he was here, trying to upturn the city that he had once loved and choking anyone who did not bend to his wishes.
Johnny's voice came again, harder and more serious than it had been a moment before. "Go tell the kids to attack, don't let the Titans get away."
Kale drew back as Control Freak squeaked a 'yes sir' and she pried a loose board from the stairs. She drew back into a small "hallway" that led to under the steps. As Control Freak closed the door behind him, Kale jumped out of the shadows and swung the board. With a small 'oof' he crumpled to the floor, holding his head.
Kale, knowing that he would be back up in less than two minutes, dragged him behind and under the stairs with minimal difficulty, despite his girth. She removed his belt and tied his hands with it. Seconds after she had backed away, Control Freak began to groan as he came to.
"Hey Control Freak," whispered Kale hostilely.
"Hmm… Kale!" he began t shout, but Kale clapped a hand over his mouth.
"You are going to jail for a very long time, Control Freak. I might be able to get time taken off of your sentence, but only if you help me catch the real bad guy."
"I am the bad guy," whimpered Control Freak, but under Kale's critical glare, he bowed his head and conceded. "All right. I'll help you, but only because I hate Johnny." He looked at her sweetly, or as sweetly as a greasy teenager could, "I knew you loved me, baby."
"Uhhh," Kale answered in disgust.
She pushed his head, which only went up to her chest, away from her, sending him sprawling. When he was done rolling on the floor and acting even more childish than usual, she pulled the strap of the blet and it released his hands, giving him an extremely painful burn in the process.
She said shortly, "Go call off the kids, and explain what is happening to the Titans. Tell them not to come in here; I'm going to try to talk to Jonathan."
Control Freak scurried off to do her bidding and Kale faced the door to the room that had once held over fifty misguided kids. Her heart beat loudly, more than that of a girl who was just about to see an ex. She swallowed and summoned her courage. She opened the door. Immediately the smell of mold hit her nostrils. Steeling herself against her anxiety, she walked inside.
Johnny's rough voice called out. "Unless you're here to tell me that the Titans are no more, I don't want to see you."
Something flew by Kale's face and shattered on the wall behind her. She cringed slightly but did not recoil.
"Hey Jonathan, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies," Kale said, repeating one of the last things she ever said to him.
Johnny came out of the shadows. Kale gasped. He was completely different. He was taller and more muscular. He wore black pants and a black shirt, ripped in several places. He had bronze knuckles around his right hand, but they too were black. His pupils were extremely small and yellow while the rest of his eyes were black. His skin was what had changed the most. It looked as if it had been left in water and all color leeched away. (A/N: The same Johnny Rancid we all know and love.)
"What are you doing here Miss Kale?" he sneered.
"Look, I just want to talk. You know what you are doing is wrong."
"No, what you are doing is wrong. If I asked you a year ago to take back the city, you would have jumped at the chance. What's happened to you?"
Kale felt her ire rise up like never before. "I would have never done what you are doing. Look at yourself, Jonathan. You are manipulating children!"
Kale heard the clink of chains. She saw his hand move. As the chain whip snaked out, she jumped into the air. As she touched down, she swung her leg out to knock Johnny to the ground, ignoring the fact that somehow she had jumped five feet into open air. Kale hit nerves in both his legs and arms; he went limp after some spazing. All he was able to do was screech curses towards her.
"Kale!" she heard Cyborg's worried yell from above.
"Nice work Control Freak," muttered Kale before she yelled, "Cyborg, I'm down here!" She squatted down and began tying Johnny up with his own chain.
Johnny sat in the back of the white truck, along with some of the more rebellious kids, all of whom were screaming 'anarchy'. Cyborg had his arm protectively around Kale's shoulder and Robin was talking to one of the officers. As Control Freak was handcuffed and led to the truck, he turned around to Kale.
"So, how's about that sentence shortening?" he smiled, trying (and failing) to be charming.
Kale smiled coyly at him. "Well, I said I might help. Apparently, here in Jump City you are not eligible for sentence reduction. Bye now." She waved as he was pushed into the truck and was forcibly sat down, hanging his head miserably.
Kale slid out from beneath Cyborg's arm, telling him that she was going to go get Jack and Hal. Cyborg watched her leave, surprisingly not following her curves but watching for danger, his eye jumping mechanically every time the flicker of the police light caused a shadow to jump and wriggle near her. When she had disappeared behind the alley's fence, Cyborg resisted the urge to go after her.
Cyborg swallowed nervously. He felt a tap on his shoulder. He swiveled his head to see Raven. She motioned for him to follow her. He did as she wished. They walked a few feet, behind the white S.W.A.T. car, so that the rest of the group would not hear them.
"You like her, don't you?" Raven asked quietly.
Cyborg nodded and looked over at Kale's smiling face. She was humoring Beast Boy, Jack and Hal trying to make themselves look small behind her. "Yeah."
"You should ask her out."
"What?" Cyborg's attention snapped back to Raven. She was definitely not one he would normally take love advice from.
"I can feel a change in her aura every time you are around. She likes you, and you like her. Ask her out. The worse she could say is no," Raven said logically.
"It's different, Rae… I could ruin a friendship and make things akw…"
Raven interrupted, something she did not usually do except when Beast Boy was talking, "So you'd rather live your days of 'friendship' getting your heart broken every time she was with someone else and it would be overstepping 'friend' boundaries by telling her that she shouldn't be with him?" Raven asked rhetorically. She continued, "You like her, and you know it. She likes you, and she may or may not. Why not save yourselves a lot of grief and give it a try?"
Cyborg's shoulders slumped. "When you're right, you're right."
Raven smiled weakly at him. She walked away. Cyborg considered what she said. Maybe I shouldn't even try. There's so much to worry about, and having a girlfriend only complicates things. But…Raven actually smiled! That had to mean something.
Puffing out his chest, Cyborg walked up to Kale, his nervousness rising with every step. He tapped her shoulder. She jumped and turned around, ready to fight, then smiled when she saw it was only him.
"Hey, Cyborg. You need something?"
"Ummm…." Man, he was really out of practice!
After a minute, Kale cleared her throat. "Tell you what, I'll talk to you tomorrow and you think of the right words. I gotta get these two knuckle heads home." She gestured fondly to the two boys behind her. She turned with them to walk the other way.
"Kale?" Cyborg blurted out. She turned along with the boys. "Will you go out with me?"
"OHHHH, get em' Miss Kale." Hooted the boys.
Kale turned scarlet with embarrassment, her pale violet eyes flickering in the light. She smiled at him. "Sure."
A/N: Wow, this chapter is a page longer than most of my other chapters, so that should make up for my tardiness. If not, get over it.