Chapter 4

-Westminster-

Someone walked the back streets near a pub called the Moor's Head Tavern. It was after dark and the streets were dimly lit and sinister shadows were cast over the streets. This hour, this place where the homeless, the destitute and the drunk, when ladies-of-the-night plied their trade, but all shied away from the man; his very presence gave off a sense of danger. All knew him, or at least recognized him from his description, many of them had been questioned, interrogated would be a better word, by him and rumormongers were well compensated for their information, should it hold value and truth. Lord Slade, Her Majesty's Intelligence and many considered him to be the most powerful, and the most dangerous man in Europe. The way he walked, the aura he gave off, suggested that, should he desire it, he could come and go completely unnoticed, totally hidden, through these streets, that he wanted to be seen. There were many questions whispered; how many agents did he have working for him? Were they truly spread all over the world? Who worked for him? Who were they watching? What were they reporting to Slade?

A young man waited for Slade near the entrance to the pub; he wore faded red clothes and was dressed similar to a page, a royal attendant. He had black hair and dark eyes, his most noticeable feature was his chin, his lower jaw seemed rather large, bordering on the ridiculous.

"My Lord, I have a message for you." The adolescent said with a very thick Scottish accent.

Slade took the small letter that the young man handed to him and glanced at the seal upon it before opening it. He took a mere moment to read what was entailed within the missive before putting in a small pouch on his belt.

"Is the room ready, William?" Slade asked.

"It should be ready momentarily, sir. If I may ask, sir, who are we to meat?" William asked.

"You may ask, but I'll not answer. In this business of spies and cutthroats, such information is of great value and should never be given away; you would do well to remember that." Slade replied.

"Yes sir." William bowed slightly.

They entered the pub; it was a moderately well lit place, despite the large fire in the fireplace. There were multiple tables scattered all over and many patrons were enjoying the atmosphere. In one corner there was a bard playing for a group of people, with a fair barmaid accompanying his tune, her voice, though beautiful, was nervous and shaky. In another corner a lovely wench giggled as a man fondled her generous bosom; from her dress and appearance she was obviously entertainment the man had bought had paid for on the streets. Scattered all about there were people enjoying their ale in deep conversation about the state of the world. The air was thick with tobacco smoke, the stench of ale and sweat and the noise of conversation and music. Slade and William walked through the room. Slade, though he did not look it, had extended his senses, listening to every snippet of conversation, drinking in the information, taking in every sight, sound and smell.

"…And I if the Queen had issue, the country… nay the whole world would not be in such a perilous state." One patron said to his friend.

"If you say so." His friend snorted.

"I do say so." The first man retorted indignantly.

"You're a fool. This is the wrath of God; it isn't because of anything anybody did, it's just the Time of Judgment, the end of the world." The second man retorted.

Many of the conversations were like this, people speaking of the end of the world. A portly middle aged man, the tavern keeper, approached Slade and William.

"Lord Slade?" He asked in somewhat hushed tones. "The room you asked for is ready. There's no fire and there's an inkwell, pen and paper on the table, just as you asked."

"Excellent." Slade stated, dropping a gold coin into the tavern keeper's hand. "We do not wish to be disturbed."

The two went to a room at the top of the tavern stairs and entered; Slade locked the door behind him and William shuttered the lantern on the table.

"Sir… why must we lock the door and make the room dark? Won't it be difficult if not impossible for the contact to come here when the room is like this?" William asked.

"I find that the darkness is a better atmosphere for such a meeting." A voice said from the darkness.

William leapt back, startled.

'When did he get here?' He thought to himself.

The figure advanced and a white mask skull mask with a blood crimson 'X' on it became visible. He was wearing a hood and cloak, which blended perfectly with the darkness around him. William could only assume the person was male, as the mask muffled the newcomers voice.

"Who's this kid?" The masked man asked with a chuckle.

"This is my aide, an agent from Scotland; his name is William Líonmhar. You may speak in front of him as you would normally. William, this is the man we've been waiting for, he is called Red X." Slade said simply, putting a barely noticeable emphasis on certain words.

Red X; everyone had heard the name, an assassin who never left a trace. His very existence was a mere rumour and none could say they had actually met him. He was equated with the wrath of God, an infallible, unstoppable and precise killer. Why he would kill was never known, his actions and reputation instilled fear in all, even if no one could actually confirm he in fact existed. And here he stood, that legendary killer, about to engage in verbal discourse with the Queen's right hand man. Red X gazed at William, seemed too size him up and William could swear that the assassin was smirking behind his mask.

"I see… Well then, Slade, rumour has it, you're after something, something only I can acquire." Red X stated slyly.

"Indeed…" Slade replied calmly. "What do you know about the Book of Scath?"

"No more than you, I would guess. The Inquisition really wants to get their hands on it; it may be that their book-burners are getting restless. The Vatican, however has sent one of its own men to check out the claims of a 'heretical book'." Red X said. "The book, as you know, is in the possession of Countess Kamandir of Germany and since it has value, you know Lady Blackfire will not give it up so easily."

"Lady Blackfire?" William asked.

"It's what the countess is more commonly known as in the circles I travel." Red X replied.

"Who has the Vatican sent?" Slade interjected.

"A cardinal by the name of Mumbos, or so I've heard. He's taking quite a bit of time to analyze the book and I've heard rumors that he's something of a dabbler in the dark arts, so it may be that he's trying to use it for his own gain, to increase his own power before he turns it in. You want me to retrieve the book?" Red X said.

"Yes, retrieve the book as fast as you can and return it to me." Slade replied.

"And my payment?"

"The usual. Half now, half upon delivery." Slade said, taking a cherry stone-sized gem out of his pouch.

Slade tossed the gem into the air towards Red X, but William did not see the assassin move, nor did he hear the gem hit the ground; it simply vanished into the dark.

"Are business is concluded… Until next we meet, Lord Slade." Red X said, calling Slade by his title for the first time.

Red X stepped back into the darkness, bowing as he did. After Red X vanished into the darkness, Slade waited a mere moment before un-shuttering the lantern; there was no one other than himself and William in the room and the young man could not for the life of him see how the assassin could have gotten out.

"What manner of… of man was that?" He asked Slade nervously.

"One who has chosen to work for me and for England and not her enemies. That is all you need to know." Slade replied as he sat down to the table.

Slade wrote a brief message on the paper, waited for the ink to dry and then sealed it with a wax seal with his mark on it. The two men then left the pub, Slade nodding to the tavern keeper, indicating he was finished with the room. Outside, Slade gave the missive to William.

"This is a reply to that note you delivered to me, make sure my agent receives it. Once you are done you are to keep an eye on the girl from the New World. When I have need of you, I will summon you." Slade said.

The youth took the letter and left on his way, saluting as he did. Slade stood in an empty alley, almost completely alone.

"He's gone and no one can hear us. Now… is there anything else you need to tell me?" Red X said, stepping out of the shadows.

"The book must be recovered at all costs, this mission must have your full attention and highest priority. You cannot let the church have it." Slade stated, a bit more forcefully than before.

"Well then, even I had not suspected how valuable this book could be… Why specify the church?"

"The church, the Vatican, the Inquisitors, they have been… compromised and they cannot be trusted. You are to take the book to an Oded Fehr once you have retrieved it."

"The good doctor? Yes, I know where he lives. Delivery, however, will cost you more."

"You will receive double your normal payment; after you have completed your task, an agent of mine will meet you at the third designated location with the remainder of your payment. And should you fail… there will be no place on earth, no shadows dark enough to hide you from my wrath." Slade said with deadly calm.

"Sounds like it might be a challenge… good, I was getting bored." Red X laughed as he vanished once more into the darkness.

-A group of circus tents, some distance from Hampton Court, Evening-

A day or two after the girls from the New World had arrived in Hampton Court they had been scheduled to have an audience with Her Majesty, the Queen; however, the Queen had been occupied and could not see them that day. A page suggested they seek out a circus that had recently been setup outside of town. Richard, ever the dutiful nobleman, accompanied them.

The Caulder Traveling Circus, a sideshow carnival, which showed off its employees' unique, remarkable and sometimes freaky talents. There was Mento the Magician, who marveled the masses with many mind tricks. With the aid of his lovely assistant, he did all kinds of tricks, levitation, mind reading and other abilities of mental mastery. Richard had seen many illusionists, but for the life of him, he could not discern how Mento did some of his tricks. The lovely assistant, an attractive young lass named Rita Farr seemed to have an elastic body as she contorted herself into seemingly impossible positions, which elicited groans of empathy and gasps of awe from the audience. She was also a superior gymnast, wowing the crowd with feats of aerial daring-do on the trapeze. There was a strong man whose strength seemed inhuman as he lifted several ridiculously heavy looking objects at once. There was an escape artist who dazzled the crowd by appearing to have been in two places at once during his show. Lastly there was a gray-skinned jester, he told jokes, many laughed and some did not. Tara looked like she was trying not to laugh, which was funny in and of itself. The jester's act ended in a mock fight as the strong man and the escape artist started to boo the jester and pelt him with vegetables. It was clear that it was part of the act as the jester engaged in hilarious pratfalls as he tried to 'get away' from his 'assailants'.

"This is most amusing. I have never seen entertainment like this before." Starfire laughed.

"You don't have any entertainment back in your… village?" Richard grasped for the right word, without trying to sound offensive.

"Oh certainly, but nothing like this." She answered gaily.

The audience laughed heartily as the trio exited the tent. They quieted down as the ringmaster, Niles Caulder, entered the tent.

He was a stout man with red hair and a beard; he could not walk so he needed to be carried by the strong man into the tent. He was still strong as his deep voice carried enough to be heard by all.

"Ladies and gentlemen…" He began. "You have partaken of our entertainment and enjoyed yourself greatly, which gives us poor entertainers the greatest delight. There is one final show we would like to present to you this evening; tonight we shall re-enact the battle of St-George as he fought the monstrous dragon. And now, I present, playing the part of St-George, KNIGHT!"

The audience hooted, hollered and applauded as the heavily armored Knight walked in, a tower shield in one hand and a mace in the other. They would have had him come in on horseback, but there was no horse strong enough to carry him. He cast quite the imposing figure with his armored form.

"And now, presenting a beast thought extinct, something that is one-of-a-kind that you'll not see anywhere else… presenting the DRAGON!"

The crowd gasped and cried out in fear as something thumped into the tent. It was about the size of a large horse, with powerful legs and a large, wickedly curved claw on each foot. With short arms and claws, more appropriate for holding prey than for ripping and a long lizard-like head and powerful tail, it had a formidable appearance. This was no dragon, but rather a velociraptor; however, this information was not known in that era, so to them, it was indeed a dragon. The gray-scaled creature let out a shrieking roar to the crowd, revealing sharp teeth. The strong man, carrying master Caulder, stepped back and let the dragon and knight battle it out. The lizard charged forward, biting and gnashing at Knight. Knight fended it off with his shield and, despite his bulk, moved deftly with agility to avoid being bitten by the beast. The crowd shouted and cried out during this battle, its fervor rising with each blow. The beast for its own part did not fight like a beast, but quite intelligently as it lashed out. It kicked at the shield, its long hooked claw catching the shield; it was able to wrench it out of Knights hands. Knight attempted to retaliate with the mace, but the lizard was able to chomp down on the handle and yanked it away from Knight. The beast held back for a moment, hesitated and the leaped forward; it jumped up, supporting itself on its tail and then began to repeatedly kick Knight. Knight, bashed continuously backed away step by step, until the beast let out a more powerful kick, knocking Knight off his feet. The beast leapt onto knight, pinning him to the ground and lunged forward to take a bite out of him. Knight raised his arm and allowed the beast to harmlessly bite into the armored arm. He pushed the beast off of him and rolled away; the beast lots it's footing a fell, rolling back up to its feet. It let out another shrieking roar and charged at Knight, who was ready for it. He jumped to one side and then wrapped his arms around the lizard's neck; he handled it like a bullfighter, digging his heals into the ground to slow it down and pulling its head in order to steer it. They both crashed violently and loudly into the unused stands and the beast fell and seemed to have been defeated. Knight rose and walked to the center of the tent. The audience cheered and clapped at his victory, until they say the beast getting up. It tromped and stomped towards Knight and the people shouted and called to him, trying to warn him, for his back was turned to the beast. The beast did not attack however, it walked up beside Knight and bowed to the people, as though it were completely domesticated or something. The people gaped at the beast and Knight patted it on the head, as though in assurance to the audience, who then clapped and cheered at the spectacle.

After the show ended and the people had all gone home, the crew had begun to put away the tents and trailers and such. They would be staying in the area for a while, but they had made enough money to last for quite some time. Knight and Gareth walked side by side towards master Caulder's wagon.

"Nice show tonight, Gar." Mento called out to him.

"Thanks." Gareth waved.

"You did wonderfully, Gar." Rita Farr, the aerial acrobat and Mento's assistant said as she passed by, kissing Gar on the cheek.

"Sorry about nailing you in the head with the cabbage, Gar." The strong man, Clifford Steele, chuckled.

"Stuff happens, 'sides, you didn't hit me that hard."

"Hope Knight didn't beat you up too badly during that little act. It looked pretty rough out there." Stephen Trainor, the escape artist, called out.

"It was no big deal." Gareth said and then under his breath… "I'll just be real sore tomorrow morning"

"Sorry." Knight whispered in a deadpan tone. No matter what he said, Knight always spoke in a whisper and without emotion, if at all. His actions spoke for him and he was a gentle person, really.

"No worries, I'm tough and that form was pretty solidly built… Now, after you?" Gareth said, holding the door to Caulder's wagon open for Knight.

Author Notes: Another chapter come and gone and more cameo appearances and revelations. For the record, Red X is not Richard Wayne, they are two completely different people, they've never even met. We now know that the famed Countess is actually Blackfire… don't you just wonder what she'll be doing in the story? And Cardinal Mumbos, quite the ostentatious appointment don't you think? To figure out who William Líonmhar is, just translate 'líonmhar' into English, it's a Gaelic word. And the circus performers? I doubt you'd be able to figure it out, so I'll tell you: before he was a Titan, Beast Boy, Garfield Logan, was in another superhero group, called the Doom Patrol, which have been presented in this chapter. They aren't going to have any major roles in the story, though.