-1-TH-TH-THWAP-
-SMACK-
-TH-THUD-
………………
………………
Robin panted…
Robin sweat…
Robin strained…
And Robin resumed his punishment of the target dummies around him. Sweat ran in rivers down his face, his arms shook from the effort, but still he pressed on, his lips curled into a snarl. Red smudges appeared on the targets each time his fists made contact.
Starfire hobbled into the training room unnoticed, limping heavily. Her thigh was completely wrapped, the white bandages disappearing up into her shorts she wore. The same bandages were visible under her tank top, where they were meticulously wrapped around her shoulder. Her arm hung in a sling that had various get well notes scrawled all over it from the other Titans.
Save one.
-d-drip-
A pair of drops of blood hit the floor, having fallen from the boy wonder's ravaged fists.
Starfire's eyes grew wide, the marker in her good hand hit the floor, and she took a hasty stop forward. A gasp of pain escaped her as she came down far to hard on her bandaged leg. Her good arm reached out and managed to catch onto a nearby weight bench, barely managing to keep herself on her feet.
Robin spun at the sound just in time to see the alien girl grab hold of the bench.
"Starfire!" he shouted, concern lacing through his voice. He ran to her side, and gently took her weight onto his own shoulders.
Starfire's cheeks turned rosy at the boy wonder's touch, and she allowed him to help her make her way over to a nearby bench where she could sit. He helped her into a position where she was sitting sideways on the bench, her leg propped up along its length.
"You shouldn't be up and moving about yet," Robin scolded with a concerned voice. "I'll call Cyborg and Ryk to help you back to your room."
The boy wonder turned to retrieve his communicator.
"Robin…"
He was stopped by a soft hand that had wrapped itself around his wrist. The Tamaranian's gentle grasp turned his hand to where she could see it. Hey eyes took the sight in, the scuffs, scrapes, cuts and blisters.
"You are injured," she said, a green tear rolling slowly down her face, "And it is because of me, is it not?"
Robin's opposite hand closed gently around where hers held his wrist. Her grip was soft…weak…wavering, as if she could barely hold onto him. "Star, no, don't blame yourself for what I'm doing here. It's not because of you that I'm doing this, but because of me. I couldn't save you, Star…I couldn't even hold a candle to that winged girl with Gizmo and Mammoth."
Another tear joined Star's first one. "Then it is because of me. It is because I was damaged."
Robin searched through his mind, trying to find something to say. His head fell, and his lips opened. "Here we are, you can barely move, and yet I am letting you worry about a few scrapes on my knuckles." He squeezed her good hand gently. "Star, you are precious to me, and if a few scraped knuckles means that I will be that much closer to being able to protect you from everything, then so be it, it is a price I will gladly, and repeatedly pay."
Starfire smiled a warm, genuine smile, and released the boy wonder's wrist. Her arm wrapped around behind his waist, and pulled him to her, leaning her head against Robin's chest. One hand of his reached out, and gently stroked her red locks, and the other closed over where her hand was against his side. They stayed in that awkward hug for quite some time.
Beast Boy stood in the same doorway that Starfire had entered through, the same place he had been ever since helping the Tamaranian down to the training room. A soft smile broke across his face, and he turned, morphed into a cat, and silently made his way back up to the main room.
------------------
Raven and Cyborg sat in the Tower's main room, in unison, they both glanced at each other, glanced away, opened their mouths, and looked back at each other.
"Cyborg, I…" "Raven, I…" They spoke at the same time.
"You go first." "You go first." Again in unison.
Cyborg chuckled, Raven groaned. With a wave of his hand, Cyborg motioned for Raven to go ahead.
"I'm concerned about Robin." she monotoned.
"Woah!" Cyborg plastered a mock look of shock on his face. "Did the Berlin Wall just fall a second time!"
A black encased pillow walloped him across the face
-WHUMP-
"He hasn't left the gym since Starfire was injured." Raven continued as if nothing had happened.
Cyborg climbed his way back over the couch, and looked back towards where his unusually concerned teammate was sitting. "Rae, that's just the was he is. He saw himself as not good enough, so now he'll work himself stupid until he either finds himself good enough, or just plain ol' can't move. Besides, girl, I've already taken steps to slow him down a bit."
"It's been three days, Cyborg."
A green cat brushed by Raven's chair, unnoticed.
"Yeeeaaaaahh…" Cyborg scratches the human side of his head. "About that…"
-swish-
Robin helped Starfire hobble out of the elevator, a gentle smile on his face as he whispered to the Tamaranian girl, bringing a girlish giggle out of her.
Raven stared
Robin smiled
Cyborg smirked
Starfire freed her good arm and waved.
The green cat in the corner morphed back into Beast Boy, who winked knowingly at the alien girl.
"Glorious!" Starfire exclaimed, her voice happy, but not quite as adamant as usual. "We are all gathering!"
Robin squinted his eyes, looking around the room. "Where's Ryk?"
Beast Boy sighed. "He said he was going out, but that was early this morning. He's been gone all day Robin."
Robin whipped out his communicator, and punched in a code.
"Uhm, Robin…" The elf was holding up a communicator, that promptly charmed.
Robin sighed, pocketing the yellow device. "I guess I'll go find him then." His hand went to his pocket, paused, and his eyes grew wide.
"Robin," Cyborg turned towards him. "He took your bike."
A very controlled flame burst into the boy wonder's eyes. "If he so much as leaves one scratch…."
The Tamaranian hanging from his arm giggled. "You worry too much, besides, don't you have enough parts for four more bikes stashed down there in the garage?"
-------------------
The R-Cycle sat sparkling out in front of a small diner. I stood in front of it, gazing in the window. My eyes searched the brightly lit place from outside professionally until I found what I had been looking for.
I smiled gently down at the brown haired waitress. "Don't be afraid to say hi if you see me out wandering around."
"And you," she smiled cutely, "should stop by the diner and say hi again some time."
I laugh silently shook my shoulders. "I'll do that."
That same head of brown hair could be seen inside rushing to and fro. It seemed to be a busy night at the diner. I smiled, and pushed open the door, spinning the keys to the R-Cycle lazily around my finger. I knew I'd have to give the bike back to Robin eventually, but for now, I was enjoying myself. I slid into a booth that a couple had just vacated, one where I knew my waitress friend had been working. Acquiring a menu, I managed to hide myself behind it, keeping my face hidden from view.
"May I help you?"
I dropped the menu to the table.
The waitress dropped her notepad and pen.
"You?"
I smiled.
Her face turned a bright cherry red.
"I told you'd I'd come back and visit ya here."
She curtsied, and put on an incredibly cute smile. "So what may I get for you today?"
A chuckle escaped my mouth. "I think I'll have another one of those burgers you brought me last time, I still haven't been able to find a better one."
Stephanie scribbled on her notepad. "One--damn--good--burger. Yeah, I think we can handle that." she smiled her cute smile again, and scurried off to turn in the order.
I smiled, and glanced out the window. Outside, there was a group of people gathering around the R-Cycle, whispering and pointing. I smirked, and reached into my pocket. I fumbled with a couple items in there, and finally pulled one out. I smirked, wrong one. I held in my hand the locater chip for the bike. I wasn't going to have Robin pulling my ride away from me in the middle of my night out. I replaced it, and succeeded in pulling the keychain for the bike. I hit a button on a tab connected to the chain.
----------------
Outside in the parking lot, a group of excited teenagers gathered around where the R-Cycle sat quietly.
"I dare ya to touch it." one of them whispered.
"Nuh uh man, it's probably rigged with some kind of self defense system that'll blast the shit outta ya if ya even get to close."
"C'mon, just try it!" someone else added.
"I'll pay 20 bucks to see ya do it!"
"I'll put 5 on that."
"Seven bucks here."
"C'mon man, don't be a wus!"
"So, thirty two bucks, and I'll touch it."
"You can touch me with that same hand if you want to afterwards…"
Everyone dropped silent, and stared at the girl who had made the announcement. She took no notice of them. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the red and black two wheeled crime fighting vehicle. "To think…Robin actually rides that on a constant basis…" her face flushed.
"Riiiiight, so thirty bucks aaaand a free groping, I think I can do that."
The crowd laughed at the comment.
The boy, now emboldened by money and hormones stepped away from the ring of people, and towards the silent bike. He walked slowly, becoming even more nervous with every step.
Inside the window, I smirked, and held my finger positioned over the plastic key fob. I waited until the boy's hand was mere inches from the bike before I hit the button.
-VVRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHNNNMMMMMMM-
In a whir of machinery and a blur of motion, a solid steel plating covered the entire bike, separating the boy from his prize by literally smacking his hand away.
-------------------------
I laughed from where I sat inside the diner.
"You know, that was kinda mean."
I turned to look up into Stephanie's face, a face that was twisted into a shape that betrayed the fact that she could barely keep from laughing herself.
I shrugged, still chuckling. "Boys and their toys ya know."
That was enough for her, and she lost it. She stood giggling at the end of the table for a moment, before finally composing herself and smiled cutely once more. "My boss said I could have the rest of the night off, mind if I join you?"
I smiled warmly back at her. "Of course not!" My hand motioned towards the empty seat opposite side of where I sat.
------------------
Robin and Starfire sat on the couch opposite of where Cyborg and Raven were.
Cyborg was staring
Raven was staring
Beast Boy was murdering another tofu sandwich in the background
And Robin and Star sat whispering to each other
And giggling
And whispering
And giggling some more
"…….you shoulda left the boy wonder down in the basement with his self mutilation self pity, and a punching bag." Raven groaned.
"Yeah…I'm…going out…on patrol…if you care….riiiight." Cyborg rose from his seat, and wandered towards the elevator.
"Cyborg…"
The hulking boy paused, looking over his shoulder towards the dark sorceress.
"I'm going with you…I've had enough giggling for the month."
--------------------
I pushed my empty plate away from the edge of the table, and leaned back in my seat. A long, contended breath escaped my mouth, my gaze still locked upon the brunette across from me. I listened intently to the words that she spoke. Our topic had varied during the meal, but it had been extremely ordinary. I had loved every moment of it. No super villains, no crime fighting, no latest gizmos and gadgetry, no lame jokes….well, other than my own.
Stephanie paused, and my attention snagged as she glanced at her watch.
"Argh…I'm gonna be late!" she sputtered.
My eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"My gymnastics class," she explained quickly as she gathered her things, "It starts in ten minutes, and it's all the way across town."
I followed her outside, lazily spinning the keys to Robin's bike around my finger. Stephanie hurried to the edge of the street, and craned her neck looking for a cab.
"Steph," I called out. I was now straddling the bike, the engine idling, and a helmet held in her direction. "I'll get ya there, don't worry."
-------------------------
A petite girl sat atop a roof, crouched like one might see a cat perched. Her shoulders heaved and her breath came in long gasps from her long, recently completed journey, but her eyes still sparkled with life. She watched carefully as a girl with long brunette hair made her way through a crowd of other youngsters, and accepted the helmet that the pink haired girl's brother offered to her. The crowd was staring as two people, who obviously were not Robin, mounted the boy wonder's personal vehicle. The girl on the roof smiled, and brushed a short lock of pink hair behind her ear.
The sound of the bike revving caught her ear, and she gathered her feet underneath her, launching herself after the vehicle while still keeping out of sight on the rooftops. Her agile body flipped and sprinted from building to building, keeping perfect stride with the speeding motorcycle. She followed silently, until the bike finally pulled up in front of a small warehouse looking building. Elite Gymnastics was displayed on the sign out front.
The brunette swung off the back of the bike, offered a smile and a wave, blushing as she turned away. Jinx turned to follow her brother but paused for some reason. The brunette had just made it to the door, but turned around to watch the retreating figure on Robin's bike.
"I wish I could do something like that," the brunette whispered.
The words barely made their way to where the mistress of luck perched, but even as soft as they were, the roared in Jinx' ears, and echoed inside her head. Her posture changed, and with an agile leap and flip, she landed atop the gymnasium, creeping her way up to one of the skylights.
In the background, another figure turned and leapt after the disappearing bike, wings betraying her shadowed form of her identity.
--------------------
I rode quietly and lazily back towards the tower, but my eyes were sharp on the rearview mirror as I rode. Every once in a while, a winged shadow would pass between the buildings, and my eyes blazed as I rode on.
-----------------
Nightmare flew silently just behind the building cover, following her rival. Visions of her ambush, her one sided battle, and finally her assured vengeance danced through her head.
A billboard hid her quarry from her for a moments time.
She passed the edge of the sign, only to see Robin's abandoned motorcycle sitting on the side of the road.
------------------
I leaned back under against a building, my body hidden from Nightmare's view by the store's awning that hung over me. I silently slipped my blades from their hiding place and crossed my arms across my chest, both blades held inverted.
My eyes traveled up the side of the building, to where I could just barely see Nightmare's silver clad legs. My weight shifted from one leg to another, and my breath came in long, even intervals.
I saw Nightmares feet shift nervously as her gaze passed around the area, searching for my hiding place.
……and I waited.
---------------------
A blue and white car drove lazily up and down the streets of Jump City. Raven sat silently in the passenger seat while Cyborg waved cheerily at the passing vehicles. The car pulled up to a stop at a light, and the mechanical boy's smiling face turned towards the somber sorceress.
"You've got a thing for Ryk, don't you."
Raven turned her cloak-hidden face towards the window. "You know as much as I do that I can't get close to anyone."
"Don't pull that excuse on me, we can all see it. You've finally got your first crush, don't ya Rae."
"Well, he is more mature than the rest of you put together." she monotoned.
"I knew it!" Cyborg exclaimed. He made a grand gesture with his hands. "Ryk and Raven, together forever!"
Raven turned farther into the window. "Drop it, Cyborg."
….but….
Facing the window, with her cloak hiding her expression, Raven's cheeks burned crimson, and a silent sigh slipped from her mouth.
------------------
The pink haired mistress of luck watched on intently as a particular brunette leapt, flipped, and tumbled her way through her latest routine. Jinx' eye was very critical of fellow gymnasts, but even so, a smile had crept across her face. The girl she watched moved strongly, certainly, and perfectly, landing every new move, no matter what the complexity of the pass was. A coach stood on the side and barked critical comments for no apparent reason, yelling about mistakes that had never been made.
And Jinx smiled, her mind plotting and planning in a flurry of ideas.
-------------------
Cyborg and Raven rode silently once again, cruising along the lanes of the city. Silence remained between the two teammates, yet the tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Cyborg was no longer waving at the passing motorists, and Raven was still staring intently out her window, refusing to bring her gaze back to the other side of the car.
--------------------
Nightmare stood atop the building. She still had not moved, but let her eyes work themselves around the area, still searching for her hiding target. She gripped and regripped her hand axes, flexed her arms, looked, and listened. A step forward brought a crunch of the gravel from under her shoe. She winced, flapped her wings, and shot to the top of a different building.
---------------------
From underneath the awning, the sound of the crunch of gravel was almost deafening in the silence. A faint flutter of wings followed, and I waited till my hiding place would be clear of her view before I moved. I slipped around the side of the building, sneaking my way around behind where I had heard Nightmare land. If anything was to come of this fight, I knew that I would have to have the element of surprise on my side, and I would not be able to lay off until I had already won. My chest heaved slightly as I gathered my composure, and slowly slunk up the fire escape to the roof.
----------------
Nightmare's eyes moved frantically as she searched the street below her. The bike still sat where it had been, but the rider was nowhere to be found. A slight whimper escaped her, and she fought to retain her focus. She knew that her opponent was an incredible fighter, but there was no reason he could be that far away from the sight. He was probably hiding out somewhere, calling and waiting for his friends to show up to help bail him out.
She craned her neck over the edge of the building, her fear overtaking caution as she exposed herself to the road below. Still, nothing came into her view. She sweat, and regripped her pair of axes she carried.
…until a dark shadow passed overtop of her.
Nightmare spun as fast as she possibly could, and barely managed to block a pair of silver blades flashing through the air at her.
My eyes locked with hers, as our blades locked against each others.
"It's been a long time, Ryk." the winged supermodel purred. "Are you ready to taste MY steel this time?"
I spun out, and immediately back in, my blades moving in a blur far to fast for the human eye to see, and yet there were Nightmare's axes to block them, her empathic abilities warning her an instant before I struck.
"Don't you think we've shed enough blood over this rivalry of ours, Nightmare?" I growled controlledly as I applied pressure against her petite wrist.
"You killed my sister, you think I can let that slide?"
She pushed upwards, and brought us to a pose were we were chest to chest, nose to nose.
"You seem to forget that I was the one who lost my sister to your own. What happened to you? You used to fight for the right side!"
"Sides." she growled, and pushed me away. "Sides only matter to those who cannot see past their own failures. There is only one thing that governs me now, and that is revenge. I will take it no matter what methods I have to use, and which so called side I have to USE."
I stepped easily back into a fighting pose, spun my blades around in my hand, and struck a pose.
"You know how this will end, we've been through all of this many times before. You are good, I'll give you that, but you are still yet to beat me."
The HIVE girl stepped forward, spinning her own axes easily. "Don't underestimate me, Ryk, I've learned a few new tricks since last time."
With those words, Nightmare unleashed her unrelenting power on me. I immediately felt my eyes grow heavy, and saw a smirk appear across the girl's face. I dropped to my knees, struggling to stay awake. A drop of blood leaked out of the corner of my mouth as I bit into my own tongue, forcing my body back to the waking world.
And then I saw it.
Not with human eyes, but with my telepathic senses, I felt the same red aura that had tormented me just nights before radiating from the girl in front of me.
"You…" I yawned, "I…you…I know this trick."
Nightmare stepped slowly towards me, raising her axe for the final blow. "And yet you can do nothing about it. How awful it must be to be in your shoes."
"Don't….underestimate…(yaaaaaawn)…me."
Another smirk from the winged girl. "But you still can't hide the fact that like it or not, I have complete control over your mind right now. Now be a good boy, and DIE!"
Nightmare brought both axes around in a parallel arc, aiming directly for my neck.
-----------------
Cyborg turned down a side street, and slowly drove his way down the parkway. At the far end something caught both his and Raven's eye at the same time.
"Isn't that Robin's bike." Raven droned.
"Just what I was thinking, why would Ryk leave it on the side of the road like that?"
The T-Car's tires squealed as Cyborg punched the gas, and sped towards where the R-Cycle sat.
-------------------
A look of shock covered Nightmare's face as my blade expertly blocked her downswing. I rose slowly, the tired look rushing away from my eyes, and stared back into her own.
"I told you," I spoke quite resolutely this time, "Don't underestimate me. You're not the only one with new tricks up your sleeve."
With that, I released a pulse across the red mental energy I 'saw' in my mind's eye, creating the same feedback pulse I had used so much earlier, but this time much more controlled, and much more precise.
Nightmare stepped back, her face twisted in pain, and a tear welling up and spilling out of her eye. We both stared at each other for a long minute, realizing that it had been us who had caused all the calamity those few nights ago.
"So, you're the telepath that cut me off last time, aren't you?"
"An empath?" I observed. "Interesting."
"You can't beat me," she smirked, "I know what you'll do before you do it."
"True," my face twisted into a snarl, "But you only get an instant's notice, I know your entire strategy."
Her smile fell, and yet mine never came.
"I guess this is a battle of endurance, then, isn't it?" I continued. "Let's see who lasts longer."
And with that, we launched ourselves at each other once again, blades flashing, axes howling through the air.
-----------------
Cyborg shut the door behind him, and stepped towards where Robin's bike sat. The keys had been removed from the ignition, but their teammate was nowhere to be found. Raven walked slowly around the white car, and towards where Cyborg stood, also scanning the area.
"He's not here," Cyborg said.
"Yes…he is."
Cyborg's human eye blinked.
"I can still feel him. He's not far off."
-WHUMP-
My body landed like a rag doll on Cyborg's hood. Both him and Raven spun in tandem to face where I lay. I groaned, rolled up to my feet, gathered my feet under myself, and with a pulse of my own telekinetic powers pushing behind me, launched back up into the building tops.
-----------------
I landed back in front of where Nightmare stood. This battle was going to be interesting. She fought on instinct, not on any battle plan, which almost nullified my telepathic advantage I should have had. I had barely any warning about her movements, much like I realized that she must get from my own.
Sharpened, gleaming, serrated edges flashed brightly in the sun as we danced our deadly weave around each other, fighting for the upper hand.
-----------------
Raven stared.
Cyborg stared.
And in tandem, they both flipped open their communicators, calling back to the Tower.
------------------
Several miles off, a pink haired girl sat atop an old gymnasium, watching through a skylight intently. Inside the gymnastics practice was finally winding down and the group was performing basic cool down exercises. Jinx slunk her way to the side of the building, smiling to herself.
"Yes," she whispered to no one in particular. "She'll do just fine."
Jinx sat atop the building until the class disbanded, and slunk her way over to the wall that overlooked the door. Her fingers snapped together, and four stories down, a shoe came untied.
-------------------
Stephanie chattered and giggled with her friends as she walked towards the door, finally done with her gymnastics class. A string slapped against the side of her leg, bringing her gaze down to her untied shoe.
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch right up." she said with a smile, and bent down to tie her shoe.
---------------------
Atop the building, Jinx waited patiently, her hair blowing slightly in the breeze. She watched as three girls walked out giggling, but the fourth one, the brunette, wasn't with them. The other three made it to the side of the road, and rounded the corner of the covered bus stop, disappearing from view. The brunette finally walked out of the building, moving briskly towards the bus stop.
Jinx leapt from her place, executing a half twist and a full back flip, landing face to face with the brunette gymnast she had been observing.
Stephanie stumbled back away from where Jinx landed, her eyes wide with fear.
A smile crept across the sorceress of luck's mouth as she placed a single finger across her lips, silencing the startled girl. Her other arm reached forward, grabbing Stephanie's arm, and with a deep breath, leapt back to the top of the gymnasium, Stephanie in tow.
Stephanie was released the moment they landed atop the building, and Jinx cat stepped away from her.
"D-Don't hurt me." Stephanie whimpered, falling to her knees.
Jinx smiled wickedly back at her. "Now why would I want to do that? Maybe because I saw you hanging out with one of the TITANS!"
Stephanie flinched away from the pink haired girl.
"Or should I say one of the Titans? That Ryk boy."
Stephanie refused to look back towards where Jinx stood.
"My brother Ryk…correct me if I am wrong."
That caught the cowering girl's attention. "You're brother?"
Jinx cat stepped her way back towards the brunette. "Yes, my brother."
Stephanie stared.
"C'mon, there's no need to be afraid of me. I work for the right side now."
Stephanie still stared, unmoving.
Jinx reached out her hand towards where the other girl sat. "I heard you say something before you walked into this building. Let me see, I believe it was 'I wish I could do something like that' or something of that nature."
Stephanie cautiously took Jinx' hand, and allowed herself to be helped back to her own feet.
"I'm trying to figure out how to do something like that myself, but I am still learning. How about we help each other out?"
"A-and how could I h-help you?"
"Well," a gentle smile spread across Jinx' face, "Help me learn control, and how to care, and I'll teach you to fight."
-----------------
In the Tower, Robin's communicator rang insistently at his belt. He groaned, stood from where he sat next to Starfire, and flipped it open.
"snkkkkkt…Robin," Cyborg barked from the other side of the communicator, "grab Beast Boy and get to my location, it's an emergency."