I am so sorry it's taken me this long to update, faithful reader type people and you have every right to be mad at me because frankly I have no excuse whatsoever.

So 1000 apologies and if we can get on with the story that'd be great. I'll let you calm down by giving you a recap:

Charly escapes from prison to follow his doppelganger and arrives at a badly concealed cave entrance, which he promptly destroys.

The rest of the former Titans are gathered at the Logan's when word arrives via Bart, who shows them thermal imaging footage of Charly's big entrance.

Now for today's chapter (and quite possibly the final one):

The wheels of Vic's car screeched as the brakes were slammed on, forcing the two-ton slab of metal to skid sideways almost into the towering wall of rock that was ahead of them not thirty seconds ago. Vic, Rich and Tara piled out as Kori, Rachel and a green sparrow hawk descended from the sky next to them (one of which then transformed back into Gar).

'Anyone spot where he went in?' Gar asked sarcastically, indicating a huge and still-smoking crater at the base of the cliff which opened onto a dark hole descending into the very ground itself.

Rich made a gesture which one could interpret as 'move in' and set off into the darkness with nary a backward glance.

'This can't possibly be as bad as the last time he did this kind of thing right?' Tara asked, hopefully, thinking of the time Charly had rescued her from a similar underground lair at the expense of his own life. It seemed so long ago now, back when they were young; invincible. In that case, literally.

---

Charly had made his way into a large cavern, which seemed to have been hastily hewn by inexpert hands to accommodate a large group of people quite quickly.

It was pitch dark, the only light coming from the orb of fire held by Charly, which illuminated just enough for him to put one foot in front of another without fear of falling into some invisible precipice.

Just as he ventured further into the 'room' a spotlight snapped on, illuminating the room further but focusing on a singular figure, which stood, blankly staring at Charly through eyes that looked dead and by rights had every reason to.

'Spitfire.' The figure spoke in a listless fashion, in a voice Charly thought he had long since silenced. Messily. 'We meet again.'

Charly dropped his initial surprise and let fury overcome him as he recognised the person before him.

'BLOOD!' He roared, his hair igniting into a raging inferno matched only by his eyes. 'You're dead! You can't be here!' He flicked his hands out to his sides, creating a ball of flame in each.

'Come now, Spitfire, if you can transcend death, so may I.' Blood drawled, his eyes unfocused.

Charly noticed a fluctuating energy signature surrounding and filling Blood, which led off into the darkness. He smiled, not knowing what else to do.

'Ah ha. Blood, I didn't transcend anything and neither did you. I was sent back because something out there likes me and you, well, you've been forced back by someone.' He took his eyes off Brother Blood and scanned the room. 'So who's pulling the puppet's strings, I wonder?'

At this point what must have been hundreds of overhead lights snapped on with a loud bang, revealing something like the set of a sci-fi TV show, all monitors and high-tech equipment.

'Whoa, it looks like Cyborg's room, only carved into rock.' Someone in Charly's mind pointed out.

A large black leather chair span round to reveal…

'Who the hell are you supposed to be?' Charly demanded, loudly, not extinguishing his fireballs.

'Me?' The rather overweight figure replied. 'I am your death, Spitfire. I am the Omega over which you have managed to skip far to many times. I am fate!'

Charly said nothing, he raised an eyebrow and tossed a small fireball right next to the man's head.

'All right! They call me Psycho, for reasons you shall learn.' Psycho replied.

'I can guess.' Charly deadpanned.

'SILENCE!' Psycho screeched before quickly regaining his composure. 'You may be wondering what your old nemesis is doing here,' he indicated Blood, who had turned to stare at them, 'he works for me now. Because he does.' He indicated another man who had appeared from the shadows.

This man had long blonde hair and a pair of sunglasses, which Charly guessed were probably a constant feature.

'He used to call himself Kid Eternity. He is now Eternity and I control his power. Want to know what it is?' Psycho seemed to depress a giggle before continuing. 'He can open the door between life and death and bring people back from the other side.' He finished like some cheesy TV presenter on the psychic medium shows Raven would immediately switch channels to avoid.

'I know,' Charly sighed heavily, 'we'd met many times before he vanished. But now you've enslaved one of my friends and you're going to pay. Dearly.'

'You can't threaten me! I know exactly what you're capable of. Like the time you knocked out the Watchtower with a single blast. Or when you killed my minion here.' Psycho seemed to concentrate very hard on Blood, who gave a little jaunty wave. 'You see? My power is to control the minds of others, or if not control, attack. So I had Eternity resurrect Brother Blood and had Blood commit a few… misdemeanours, shall we say.'

Charly raised himself from his fighting stance and gave a questioning look. 'What? Blood committed the murders I was blamed for? Wait, I knew that. What about my double?'

'We'll come to that, but now THIS!' Psycho leapt from his seat and placed his fingers on his temples.

A searing pain shot through Charly's mind, blinding him for a second as he felt Psycho probe around, looking for a mental handhold. Thankfully, back in the days of the Titans, Raven had taught him how to make his mind 'slippery' so mind-controllers couldn't get a firm grip, it simply involved something he was already accustomed to; sliding everything in his mind through his consciousness very quickly, thus confusing the attacker. In someone with as many issues as Charly it sometimes injured the attacker. As was the case with Psycho.

'Argh! So, you can resist my control, but I know psychic strikes are a weakness of yours.' Psycho taunted, his voice seeming to get higher.

'Wow, he has done his homework, hasn't he?' Wisdom was able to say before Charly's mind shut down under the blast of psychic energy.

'Now, your double,' Psycho's voice seemed far away for a second before Charly's mind readjusted itself, 'another one of my minions. He calls himself Morph and can take the form of any human on Earth. Or humanoid not from Earth.' Psycho added with a slight snorting giggle.

'They certainly named you aptly.' Charly tried his luck, which gained him another psychic blast.

'I had him take your form and kill the final victim in public view. Then I had him lead you here.' Psycho gestured to Blood, then to Charly.

Charly looked up in time to receive another psychic attack and a punch from Brother Blood, sending him sprawling across the floor.

'Just as strong as you were alive, Blood.' Charly wiped some of his own blood from his bust lip and licked it off his thumb.

'The Master makes me strong.' Blood's zombie-voice drawled again.

'How the mighty have fallen. You were once a leader, not a minion.' Charly said as one of Blood's boots connected with his chest, sending him further across the floor and possibly cracking a rib or two.

Charly rose to his knees and coughed some blood onto the cold rock floor before Blood was on him again, pounding a knee into his chin, sending him backwards only to have his chest stamped on when he landed.

'Enough for now.' Psycho shouted.

'Yes, call off your dog, mentalist.' Charly had forced himself onto one knee and was wiping at the cuts on his face.

'It's Psycho!' The villain screamed, forcing Blood to punch Charly in the chest again.

'My only question, before I kick the crap out of you,' Charly began after a coughing fit, splattering more blood onto the ground, 'is why? Why go to all this trouble to bring me here and ruin my life when you know my weaknesses. You could have outright killed me whenever you wanted.'

'That's right, keep him talking, the others will be here soon.' Courage told him in an effort to make his host hold on.

'Let's hope so.' Charly replied quietly.

'Why didn't I kill you? That would be too good for you! You couldn't just die or you'd become more famous, more well-loved by everyone! No, your name had to be mud first, you had to have your friends and loved-ones doubting you and even you doubting yourself before I could finish you.' Psycho explained quietly.

'But why?' Charly insisted.

'Because…because…I wish I was you!' Psycho began to screech again. 'You with your fame and public persona whom everyone loves and your girlfriend and your Titans and your coolness!'

'Coolness?' Charly said under his breath.

'You made us normal,' Psycho continued, 'people with powers were special, I was special. In highschool nobody picked on me because I could turn their brains into soup. I was someone. The Teen Titans were people to be respected and feared; one trained by the greatest detective ever, one from space, one the daughter of a demon from another dimension, one the product of a disease and experimental cure and one half machine. They weren't normal. Until you came along, you and that bitch who seems to like you.'

Charly tossed another fireball at that statement but it went wide as another psychic blast ripped through his skull.

'You weren't the product of some weirdness, you two, you came and were just… you. Normal kids with powers. And you made it worse by being some friendly to the public. Eventually it became a normal, accepted thing to have powers and no-one cared anymore. I was a nobody again. No-one picked on me, but everyone avoided me, I was isolated, segregated and left to fend for myself! Have you got any idea how that feels!?' Psycho raged.

'I thought you knew my history, moron. My family and friends were killed when I was young. Isolation is knowing no-one you care about will ever be able to help you again. The despair eats away and there is nothing anyone can do because anyone who could do something is dead.' Charly had stood up, sheer anger making him forget the pain. 'For a year I travelled alone, all over the world, stealing to survive and sleeping where I could. I didn't have a warm bed to go home to, no parents to hug me and tell me it was all going to be alright in the morning. No, because a crazy person took that away. I was friendly to people as a Titan because I liked Jump City and my new friends and family and I didn't want anyone to endure the pain of being looked-down on or ignored or discriminated against by someone who was supposedly better than them. You are a sad, deluded little man with no idea what real suffering is. You're a nerd with a superiority complex which was shattered when you realised that people with power aren't better, just different.' Charly roared, shaking the walls of the cavern with every word.

---

The former Titans had reached the entrance to the cavern just in time to hear the start of Psycho's explanation. By the time Charly had finished they all stood open-mouthed at the sheer passion in their friend's voice.

'He really cares about this doesn't he?' Gar asked, redundantly.

All he gained as an answer were nods.

---

'It's not the same!' Psycho screamed, covering his ears and shaking his head. 'You don't know! We are better! We are!'

He began to throw blast after blast into Charly's mind, ripping his psyche to shreds. He began to speak again, punctuating every word with another blast.

'And. Now. There're. No. Titans. To. Help. You.' He shouted, pummelling the man before him.

Charly writhed in agony as he felt his mind being destroyed. He thought he heard Robin somewhere in the distance.

'Wrong again, Psycho.' One of Nightwing's birdarangs had cut a gash into Psycho's face, but it didn't stop his mental assault. Charly managed to raise his head in time to see Raven raise a barrier of dark energy around herself and him.

'Back in the old uniform, huh Rave?' He managed to spit out.

'Yes,' Raven answered him quickly, 'Now shut up while I help heal your mind.' She went to work helping him reorder his memories and thoughts, all the while the other former Titans were fighting one minion or another.

Beast Boy morphed back from a rhino having just charged Brother Blood and turned to spot Raven on the ground, groaning in agony. He ran to help but stopped short, spotting the protective dome of power still over Charly. 'Wait…'

Morph leapt from his position on the floor, reverting to is own form and tackling the green hero t the ground.

Starfire, Cyborg and Terra were preoccupied with Blood and Eternity's armies of skeletons he seemed fond of summoning.

Rich was attacking Psycho. He was less susceptible to psychic attacks than Charly and could get right up to the villain. He grabbed his collar and placed a knife to his throat.

'Call them off.' He nodded to the mind-controlled villains. 'Now.'

Raven finished healing Charly's fragmented awareness and lifted the protective barrier in time to strike at distracted Psycho's mind and disable his power. Brother Blood crumbled to dust, as did Morph. Unfortunately, so did Eternity, proving that he had in fact died, as the Titans suspected. (Then again, he controls the doorway between life and death, so maybe he just needed a break from the world).

'Psycho,' Charly addressed the quietly sobbing villain, who was gibbering to himself, 'You were wrong before. As long as even one of us is still breathing, there will always be Titans. Always.' He stumbled slightly but was caught by Tara, who didn't even care when he coughed blood on her shirt. She was elated to know for sure why all of this had happened.

'One more thing,' Charly remembered, 'that stuff you paid Jinx to drug me with, what was it?'

Psycho perked up slightly. 'It was something I had Brother Blood whip up. I'd managed to get a sample of your blood, which the Brother then made into some kind of drug that would enter even your system, since it was your own blood. It gave me limited control over your emotions, well only anger really, and had the useful side effect of making you pass out but still be able to move.' Psycho giggled, which quickly became a sob and he began to gibber to himself again.

'You're a sick fuck. Get him out of here.' Charly demanded.

'Aren't you going to kill me? Add me to your large roster, Spitfire?' Psycho yelled as he was being dragged out of the cavern.

'You aren't worth it. Let's see you rot in jail until you become one of Eternity's playthings.' Charly hissed before blacking out.

Some time later:

The former Titans sat around a table at the Logan's house. Charly was now sporting a fine selection of bandages along with a hangover that apparently you can get from being psychically attacked.

'So that was exciting.' Vic said quietly.

As though the catalyst for it, that phrase started everyone talking at once. Once the din had died down Charly decided to weigh in and summarise.

'So all of this was because of some grudge a kid had in highschool when we were the Teen Titans. It was about jealousy and revenge. Unbelievable. I knew I was popular, but to generate nemeses? Whoa, dude. Whoa.' He worked through.

For a long time they sat and talked, and talked and sat and drank and talked. Rachel refused a glass of wine when everyone else indulged, everyone but Tara, anyway.

'On a lighter note,' Kori spoke up after a while, 'Richard and I have some news.'

'We're getting married.' Rich almost threw the statement away like it was worth nothing.

This announcement elicited more loud conversation and a long 'Dude!' from Gar.

Once the din had died down Gar spoke up as well. 'Since we're announcing things…' he put one arm around Rachel's shoulders and the other gently on her midriff.

'…We're pregnant.' Rachel told the group, smiling hugely.

This just caused further, louder talks and eventually this too died down in time for everyone to spot Charly and Tara copy the Logan's pose. Everyone stared expectantly.

'What a coincidence.' Charly said with an enormous grin. 'So are we.'

Chaos broke loose in the Logan household, everyone the Titans knew (even Jinx who was still in a police cell for at least one more night) was called and told all three sets of news, all offering congratulations and enquiring dates. A few even turned up at the mansion and a party started. Tara eventually found Charly sat in the garden after talking to practically everyone simply because they were hunting her down to ask things.

'Hey honey.' He said as she sat down next to him. 'One of my cigarettes is missing.' He waved a pack accusingly.

'I didn't smoke it, Charly, I'm carrying our child remember? But I want you to quit too, for the baby.' She leaned into him and took him in her arms.

'Done.' He said instantly. 'What's up?' He had noticed something about her mood,

'I was just thinking, we're going to have a child. A little mini boy or girl who's a mixture of both of us. What about powers and… the inherent danger and…'

He silenced her with a kiss and stroked her hair before leaning back and sighing. 'Yes, there's that. But we'll be there to make sure things don't go… awry. And when she's old enough we can teach her how to properly control whatever power she may have. If any, you never know, she might be completely normal.'

'She?' Tara asked.

'Yeah, we're having a girl. I can feel it.' Charly replied. 'Kinda ruins the surprise but ah well.'

'Anyway,' Tara continued, 'I hope she does inherit some kind of power. Being normal is so over-rated.'

'Yeah. Besides,' Charly settled, 'what could possibly go wrong?'

Thank you guys and girls so much for reading this.

I'm sure there are 'fans' of the original Spitfire who've read this too so thank you double, and if not, whatever, you've read this one, perhaps you'll read the other to try and make more sense of it.

I'll admit, 7 chapters is a lot less than 30, but the first one was a few periods of Charly's life, this is just one.

Again, apologies for the latency and many thousands of millions of thanks for your input and support and just generally for getting some sort of enjoyment from my work. But it's 5 AM now and I didn't get to sleep till about this time last night either. So I'm gonna upload then GO TO BED!

So, for the final time during this fic:

Reamis, out.