Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Teen Titan characters.
Chapter 7
The blood in Rose's face drained as Slade told them they could come with him. She saw Zach's face light up with joy and bounce to his feet. She didn't want to go with the madman but Zach was thrilled for some reason. She gripped her boyfriend's journal in her hand and bit her lower lip. She had no choice but to follow the two.
Kids flooded the hallways once she got out of the bathroom. It took her a second to find Zach and Slade again. She ran to catch up with them. She slowed down once she was at Zach's side. He flashed her an addictive smile. She tried to return it with a smile of her own, but she was feeling too worried to express any fake emotions.
"We'll be fine," Zach whispered to her. "We'll see Gene in less than 24 hours with Slade taking us to Jump City."
"I don't trust him, Zach," Rose whispered back. The boy frowned down at her but let her continue. "He might be trying to keep Gene safe and away from the government, but I don't like his methods. Gene was miserable in his cell, you remember reading that. This man is evil, Zach, we shouldn't go anywhere with him. What if he turns on us and uses us as leverage to get Gene to submit to him?"
"So what are we going to do?" Zach asked her, "Stay here and let Slade get to Gene without doing anything to stop him? Face it, Rose; the fastest way to get to Jump City and to Gene is with this man. I don't know about you, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing anymore. I'm getting involved."
"You're using Slade more than just a way of transportation," Rose stated bluntly.
"So what am I doing, Rose?" Zach asked her with an evil smirk. "You tell me."
Rose growled with frustration. She couldn't answer his question. "I'm going with you," Rose finally told him, "But only to get to Gene. This is foolish, though. If something goes wrong I won't hesitate to say I told you so."
"Don't worry," Zach said with a grin. "I know what I'm doing."
"Don't remind me," Rose muttered. She was done hiding her emotions from him. If she felt angry or disgusted with Zach now, it would be shown.
The bright afternoon sun blasted into their eyes once the trio got outside the building. Slade suddenly stopped and the two teens quickly put on the brakes behind him. The man closed his eye and tried to listen for something other than the annoying sound of the fire alarm and the sweet melody of the few birds flittering around lazily that spring afternoon.
"Run," Slade suddenly said in barely a whisper. Right after this, the man took off in a sprint. Zach and Rose exchanged quick glances before running after Slade as quickly as they could. They sprinted through the football field and headed for the cornfield beyond the track and field area. The two teens found themselves gasping for air to keep up with Slade.
Right as the three had gotten past the football field, the trouble started. The sound of a low flying airplane buzzed through the air a little ways from them. The fire alarm hadn't been some stupid joke. It was meant to get Slade out of the building. The government was right now the man's tail this time.
Slade didn't pause as a blast of bullets from the military flight plane bombed the ground next to his feet. Dirt and grass sprung into the air and rained down on the two kids behind him.
"Still know what you are doing?" Rose yelled at Zach, dodging dirt and debris as it fell around her.
"Just move!" Zach yelled back at her. They both had a look of panic in their eyes as they kept running after Slade. The track and field area came up and they had to jump the chain link fence surrounding it. Slade easily made it over. With the right speed and momentum, Rose managed to jump the gate. She stopped once she was over and saw that Zach was having trouble with the obstacle. Slade didn't wait up and kept running.
"Thank me later," Rose said to Zach. She jumped back over and put her hands together to boost him up. He nodded his small thanks and let her help him over. She then jumped back over and they both sprinted again toward Slade and the corn field. They did the same thing to the other gate and followed Slade into the maze of corn with some hesitation. Another round of bullet fire had convinced them to move on.
They ran blindly through the forest of corn stalks till they found Slade again. He was already starting up the small helicopter he had hidden. The air rushed around the two's heads as the blades propelled above. Rose's long black hair flew around wildly as she stared at the flying machine, once again divided inside.
"We might want to hurry, Rose!" Zach shouted to her above the whirl of the blades. He flung the passenger door open and helped Rose in. There were just enough seats for the two. Rose got the one in the back while Zach sat next to Slade. They both struggled with their seatbelts, hands slightly shaking with apprehension. Once they were safely strapped in, Slade handed them some big headphones to block out most of the noise.
Rose's stomach twisted as the helicopter rose steadily into the air. Both of the teens squeezed onto their straps for reassurance. Soon they were flying away from the school, the ground becoming like an ant farm below them. It took a few minutes for the teens to finally calm down and relax.
"Where did you learn to jump a fence like that?" Zach's voice came through Rose's headphones. He turned around in his seat and smiled brightly at her.
"My parents made me take gymnastics till 6th grade," Rose answered. "I hated it, but at least it was good for something."
"Hell, yeah!" Zach said with a laugh.
The rest of the ride was mostly quiet after that. Slade wasn't the best conversationalist. He looked annoyed for most of the ride even though the two weren't doing anything to bother him. All their minds drifted to their own thoughts as the hours dragged on. They only had to stop for fuel once. The trip to Jump City took a whole day. By the time they got to their destination, the two kids were cramped and in sour moods. They just wanted to see Gene at this point.
-The Hive Five Hideout-
A long string of muttered curses sounded in the smashed up hallway to the Hive Five's Hideout, which wasn't five anymore. See-More had left shortly after Jinx had turned on them. He had gone onto being a thief in some other city for his own reasons. The guys still on the team had guessed it was because he had secretly had a crush on Jinx. After she left to be with Kid Flash, why would he want to stay?
Gizmo finally ended his curses with a disappointed sigh. He rested his broom against the wall and eyed his big pile of rubble. It would take them weeks to fix their layer back up. The new leader to the villainous team was just thankful the Titans had only destroyed one level to their hideout.
Suddenly the locked door that was the main entrance to the hideout slid open smoothly. Gizmo looked up with his eyes going wide in both surprise and fright. "Crud!" he cursed to himself as he saw Slade standing there with two teens behind him.
Before Slade or Gizmo could say anything to each other, the speakers suddenly turned on above them and the loud voice of Billy Numerous yelled into it, "He ain't kidding this time, Gizmo. Kid Wicked is leaving." There was a pause until Billy added quickly, "Could you stop him?"
Gizmo looked back to Slade and gave him a fake innocent smile. Slade narrowed his eye dangerously on the kid and started to walk down the hallway. The two teens followed close behind him. They looked around the place with worried expressions. The walls were all covered with soot and burn marks. Ceiling pieces had caved in, and the carpet was singed. It seemed like the place had undergone a battle, which was exactly what had happened.
Slade entered the main room and stopped to look around. He folded his arms in front of him. It was clear he was angry inside from his body language. Rose and Zach backed off from the man, afraid he would explode or something. They had guessed that this was the place that Gene would be. Just from looking around, Gene was nowhere to be seen.
"I can explain, Slade!" Gizmo said as he burst out of the hallway they used to be in. "We got the kid easily, you saw him, but just an hour ago the Titans showed up here. They surprised us and there was a fight. They took off with the kid. We had no chance against them!"
"Come on, Kid Wicked!" Billy pleaded as he, Mammoth, and Kid Wicked entered the room from another hallway. "Just stay with us for another week!" Kid Wicked shook his head silently with disgust and annoyance. He would have been yelling at Billy for his stupidity, but the dark villain was mute. Usually he told others what he was feeling by his expressions. Right now it was clear he was pissed.
Billy stopped in his tracks when he saw Slade. Kid Wicked only glanced at the other villain with little surprise coming to his face. He passed Slade and headed toward the hallway they had just come from. Slade's one eye watched as the kid stopped once he got there because four of Slade's robots blocked his path. He spun around and shot Slade a deadly glare.
"Wait, what is this?" Gizmo asked loudly as more robots showed up and stood at the doorways. The Hive Five got into their own fighting stances instinctively. They all eyed the robots surrounding them with weary expressions on their faces. From the scars and bruises already on their bodies, it was clear that they had already gone through a beating.
"No one is leaving till the boy is in my custody," Slade finally said. His gaze swept over every one of the Hive Five members with distaste. "You four will get me what I asked. Even if you like it or not," he added once his eye landed on Kid Wicked. The teen folded his arms in front of him with a scowl, but he was smart enough not to protest against Slade.
Suddenly something fell onto Rose's shoulder, and she gave a short scream of surprise. Everyone looked her way to see what the problem was. She blushed slightly from having every eye in the room on her. Zach picked the thing that had hit her off the floor and smiled.
"Delivery," Zach said as he held up the journal from Gene.
Journal 3: Part 1
Whew! The last 24 hours has been a whirlwind for me. So much has happened since I sent you my last journal. Again, I'm getting too far ahead. I should just tell you the story and stop blabbering on and on.
Things started to change as I finally got to Jump City. I stepped out of the bus and onto the dirty sidewalk with my head tilted upward and a smile on my face. I had never been to a big city. I went to Philadelphia in 7th grade for a field trip, but I wasn't able to really see the city when we went. It was like walking into a new world for me. It was way better than Amish buggies and corn fields.
Everyone had a place to be. The mass of people on the sidewalks walked briskly to their own destinations. The cars on the street sped by, pushing gusts of wind into my face. The smell of it was also new. It was like that small city back where Slade's hideout was, but five times stronger. It wasn't my favorite fragrance, but anything is better the smell of fresh pig poop spread out on a field.
I quickly got my head together and searched for any sight of Titans Tower through the collection of sky scrappers soaring above me. It didn't take me long to spot it. With a smile, I headed in that direction. I should have gotten on another bus to get there, but I wanted to see the city more. I had no idea how foolish that decision was till after I walked a few blocks.
The first hint that my decision was stupid was when my hurt leg started to give me grief. I had cleaned the wound and stitched it up at a rest stop the other day, but it still hurt if I walked too much. I ignored the small injury with a sigh of annoyance. I mentally told myself to get Slade back for shooting me.
After a few more blocks, the pain was greater, but I was too much in thought to be bothered by it. I was wondering what I was going to do once I got to the Tower. I couldn't just ring the doorbell and introduce myself as Robin and Raven's clone. They might have gotten a laugh out of it if I did that, but I wouldn't be taken very seriously, which I really wanted. It suddenly dawned on me that they must have no clue that they had been cloned. How was I going to convince them they were?
I didn't get too far with answering that question.
Something suddenly jumped down in front of me. I gave a short yell of shock and surprise as I stepped back. That something was really a someone. I stared up at the little kid with confusion. He was attached to four spider-like metal legs that made him loom over me by at least four feet. The sidewalk and street that the legs had impacted was dented. An evil grin was planted on his face as he stared back down at me.
It didn't take long for me to figure that this guy had been sent by Slade to get me. Why else was I singled out in this whole city by this kid with metal legs? The only reason why I was confused was why Slade wasn't there to do the job. I didn't care about that as I spun around and ran the opposite way.
I slammed into someone who had come up behind me. Stars blasted around my vision as my body collided roughly into his. I landed on my butt on the sidewalk with a wince. I looked up at the person who I had rammed into. The guy was a beast! Everything about him was big, but not fat big. He was just covered with muscles…and hair. So yeah, when I say beast I really mean it.
A loud scream shook me out of my stare. I quickly glanced around to see people running away from me and the other two standing around me. The curious ones took cover behind cars and poked their heads up to see what was going on. But no one looked too scared. They knew their teen superheroes would show up sometime soon. I hoped they came too, because my situation was quickly starting to look grim.
"You two working for Slade?" I asked the kid and giant while still sitting on my butt.
"Yeah!" the giant said with a wicked smile. "And boy is he paying a lot to make us kidnap you!"
"Shut up, you stupid crud muffin!" the kid yelled at the giant. He shook his tiny fist in the air while saying, "He's paying us to keep our mouths shut, too. Don't talk to him!"
"Sorry," the giant said with genuine regret on his face.
That was my time to flee. I picked myself up and ran into the deserted street. I realized the two weren't following me all too late, and once again I ran head long into another one of their members. The dude laughed as I landed back on my butt. I was sick of being so easily pushed around.
The next guy was clad in all red with a division sign on his chest. He wore an easy going smile on his face as he looked down at me with his hands on his hips. His stance was like a pretend macho look. He looked more goofy than manly to me. In other circumstances I would have laughed.
"Hey, Billy, do you think I scared him?" the guy said in a southern accent to someone behind me.
"Holly crap!" I shouted once I saw the person he was talking to. It was the same guy! My reaction only made the three, I mean four, laugh. I frowned when I realized I was now their amusement. Out of anger, I kicked one of division guy's legs to make him fall forward. I then kneed him in the forehead and got a cry of pain out of him. "Funny now?" I asked him.
"He knocked Billy out!" the giant said to the kid with surprise. I quickly got back up and continued to run away. I was kind of shocked with myself. I didn't mean to really knock the guy out and hurt him that bad, but at least it gave me time to get away.
"Get him!" the kid yelled from behind.
Two seconds later, a black portal opened in front of me and I had no time to stop. I tripped into it with a yell of fright. Darkness enveloped me as I spun in an endless void. Suddenly I saw a pure white opening and fell into it. The bright world reappeared around me as soon as my whole body passed through the opening. For a second I was suspended in the air. I then fell.
I landed on the sidewalk on my back. I moaned as pain flooded through me for a second or two. I stared into the clear blue sky and tried to put my mind and body back together. Man, that fall hurt!
"Is he dead?" the giant asked as three heads leaned over and into my line of vision. The new face only glared at the giant for his stupid question. The kid still had his wicked grin planted on his face as he looked down at me.
"How many of you guys are there?" I asked with a groan.
"You have now met all the members of the Hive Five," the kid said with an annoying laugh.
"You guys aren't really great at math, are you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Two of our members quit," the giant stated. The other two glared at him.
This time I actually laughed. This guy was just too stupid to not to. "Keep counting, big guy," I chuckled.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Yeah, I know Kid Wicked is spelled differently, but it is easier to type the way I spell it. The Titans come back in the next chapter, and so will my attempt at some romance. But I actually think I'm getting better at that genre slowly but surely. I'm sure the next chapter will be up next weekend. I've already started on it. Please review! Thanks!