Authors Note: Well….howdy! It's been forever since I've updated, I'm aware, and I'm sorry to all my readers, and also very thankful to everyone who reviewed and inspired me to take up this story again. I think this newest installment is written a little differently then all the previous, so I hope you enjoy it! Sorry for the delays, for this and all my stories, and hopefully I'll hear from y'all!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, I don't own Batman. 'Nuff said.

On with the show….

Like Toy Soldiers

Chapter 12

Alexander Grayson, age twelve, was not quite sure at this very moment why he was laying on his back, eyes heavy, sprawled out on frigid cement. All he knew was that it was cool, and peaceful. Everything was a white canvas ready to be filled. It wasn't night, it wasn't day, it wasn't Gotham, it wasn't Steele City, all it was was a peaceful place where nothing hurt and nothing really mattered. Alex looked up into the white blur, calm, serene, and not particularly curious as to why he felt something wet seeping underneath his palms. All he found curious was the little black dot that was growing bigger in his field of view. It grew every second, moved closer, consumed the canvas. And then, suddenly, everything mattered. Alexander Grayson was on top of a building in the middle of Gotham City with pools of blood underneath his palms and that was very peculiar indeed. And within two seconds he was on his feet, his shoes splashing up the river of blood bisecting the building as he lunged forward at his attacker, a man clad in all black, his face covered with a half mask, and an orange belt around his waist. Starbolts wouldn't come, so Alex settled for a heavy punch to the back of the skull of the man who looked more like a shadow then a human being, a reflection of all that was wrong parallel to a world struggling to be good. But the punch was weak, inconsequential, and did little but add red specs of blood to the man's half-mask.

Rebecca Gordon, clad in a batsuit that loosely fit her frame, reached into her utility belt and grabbed a bat-a-rang, eager to help Alex who wasn't quite aware of the gaping gash through the back of his head. The bat-a-rang flared through the night sky, in the space of an instant and hit the mysterious attacker across the abdomen, cutting a neat line through the fabric of his costume but little more.

"Try below the belt next time," was what Douglas Logan offered as black matter formed around his fists, "It hurts there, trust me."

Quite like the bat-a-rang but quite different all the same, the black matter of a heavy dark magic spell poured out and reached the attacker, and, finally, this attack did something. The shadow of a man was knocked flat to the ground, splashing up the blood once more. And they all through punches now, unafraid suddenly of this creature who lay in a pool of red. Alex delivered one to the gut, Becky (ignoring Doug's below the belt suggestion) aimed for the face, and Doug kicked the man's shins, sending his flying towards the edge of the roof.

"Booya!" Alex exclaimed, jumping up "High fives all around!"

Instead of high-fives all he received was glare from Becky.

"Fine, okay, leave me hanging," Alex snorted.

But the shadow of a man wasn't through yet. Angered, he sprang to his feet, and in a powerful round house, aimed for whoever was nearest. This just so happened to be Becky, Batgirl, and she flung backwards to the ground, where she was met with more assaults, some of which she cleverly dodged and aimed back at the attacker and some of which hit her hard enough to force her to emit a yelp of fury and pain. The short yelps were enough to make Alex's blood boil. Boil like it did when Cam and Rex took his lunch money. Boil like when he found out his own parents had kept a secret from him all his life. At last the starbolts came, and a stream was fired toward the shadow, who evaded all but the last, which hit him in the gut again and boiled the skin where Becky's bat-a-rang and ripped a line in the fabric. Now the shadow's attention was all turned towards Alex, all of a lifetime's worth of martial arts skill used in the defeat of a small boy. But Alex, not completely defenseless, flipped and sputtered and aimed starbolts that had a deep effect upon their impact to the flesh. Alex was consumed with the fight, consumed with the rage and revenge. So much so, that he didn't realize he was at the very edge of the roof until he was spiraling stories down.

"ALEX,FLY!!!" Becky screamed through the night.

But try as he may, he was deadweight flopping trough the air.

Doug took a running jump off the side of the building and changed into a green pterodactyl with purple stripes down the wings, and spiraled down through the crisp dark air until Alex landed between his wings. As Doug made the return flight Becky ran towards the shadow man, fist clenched. But by the time Doug was safely on the roof and Becky's fist was where the man once was, the mysterious attacker was gone.

Alex slid off the side of Doug and landed on the ground with a heavy thud into the river of blood.

"Is blood washable?" Alex asked as he stared down in disgust at his blood soaked uniform. "Maybe with some bleach and a pint of Tide on cold in a spin cycle…"

"Can you believe that?" Becky said as she looked out into the sky. Doug morphed back into a human and stood by her side. "He just…disappeared. He didn't even try to break in to the building, or anything."

"Whoever he was," Doug said as he helped Alex to his feet "He will be back."

And in a far building under the cover or a flickering sign, the Shadow chuckled to himself. He now knew every weakness, every punch, every kick, and every move they could make.

"So," Shadow whispered to himself," it has begun."