The Wicked One

Chapter 6: Fatalities

XXXXXXXXX

It had been a very, very long time since I had last broken into anything. I did not realize exactly how long until I felt the excitement of bashing the guard's heads together, the adrenaline of using my powers to phase through the security doors, the anticipation eating at my stomach of not know what was going to happen next. It was all a breath of fresh air, at least for the moment.

In the end Red X and I found ourselves inside the military base, in some lobby looking room with a reception desk, tables, chairs, magazines, the works, though there were no people.

"So, where's our welcoming committee?" Red X questioned, pacing around the room with folded arms, "Those defense turrets didn't give me close to the excitement I was hoping for."

I merely shrugged, slightly disappointed at the lack of security as well, I was starting to have fun…

"Fixit has most of the security taken care of down here." A familiar robotic voice informed as the mechanical orb hovered into the room, its red eye surveying everything, "The military will not be as compliant as security however, so there is still plenty of excitement to be had further a long, just continue down that hallways across the room and up the stairs, he will be waiting for you Red X."

"For me?" the thief inquired, him and I sharing a look, "You mean silent and creepy over there isn't going with me?"

"No. I have a different assignment for him." Blackfire responded bluntly. Red X merely shrugged.

"Ah well, more for me." He replied, already making his way across the room, he then threw a hand out in farewell, "It was fun Wykkyd, good luck." Then the thief disappeared down the hall.

"As you might have guessed, the initial plan was to have you both go in, grab Fixit, and leave as quickly and with as little…distractions as possible," Blackfire began, the robotic orb hovering closer to me, I couldn't help but take a tiny step back, the collar still felt uncomfortably cold around my neck, "But Fixit has been giving me constant reports about what is going on around here, and it seems that rouge scientist I mentioned earlier has become much more of an interest to my plans…"

One of the small flaps on the robot suddenly flew open, and while I visibly flinched the little claw that came out did not hold another torture device, in its grip rested a large piece of paper.

"It's a map, take it…I promise it won't bite." Blackfire assured, it was easy to hear the smile in her voice that time. With a slow but deliberate reach I carefully grabbed the map. "You will need to head up from here, straight through the ceiling, if you can, in that room you will find several hallways and more guards, if you're lucky, take the hallway leading in the direction of the largest room on the map. I want you to find the renegade scientist in there, find a way to restrain him, and take anything you find on him, specifically blue prints, if you find nothing make your way to the scientist's dormitories, they are the rectangular rooms lined up together against one side of this warehouse. You should not run into too much resistance if Red X does his job correctly, but do not tarry, get in there, get the blue prints, and get out. We will all meet back at the rendezvous point. Any questions?"

I heaved my chest in an attempt at a sigh, folding my arms and giving the android a dead look.

"I thought not." Blackfire said with a smile still in her voice, "Now, get moving."

I simply nodded, tucking the map into a pocket and grabbing my cloak. I wrapped myself into its cold embrace and fell into darkness, when my feet felt solid ground again I pulled back my cape to reveal a bare room with multiple hallways leading in different directions. Looking around the small room I quickly took notice of several unconscious guards leaning against the wall. Looks like Red X has already been through here.

Pulling out the map I took note of where I was and connected the hallway on the map to one of the ones in this room, the one that led to the largest room in the base. The large square on the map seemed to dwarf the others, it nearly took up a third of the base, and one could only wonder what that room was used for.

A sudden moan broke away my attention from the map and quickly folding it back up inside a pocket I looked back over at one of the supposedly unconscious guards. The guard moaned a little louder, his head rolling around his shoulders, and I could see the eyes beneath his helmet open a little and dazedly fixate on me.

"Are you…a Teen Titan?" the guard asked in another pained moan. I began to approach the man, prepared to finish what Red X started when the man started speaking again, "Please…you have to stop him…he's gone crazy…going to…destroy this entire city…"

I raised a curious brow. I assumed the guard was speaking of the rogue scientist… unless he was speaking of the boy who had just recently knocked him out. But that was crazy, as far as I knew Red X's only interests were thieving and that strange stuff that gave him all the powers…but then, what were Blackfire's interests?

Did she just want to escape…or did she desire something more?

I shook my head clear of these thoughts. None of this was my concern; all I wanted was to get my friends back. So without further hesitation I reached the injured guard and pinched him in a spot near his neck, squeezing the nerve until he was unconscious. The only useful move Billy Numerous ever taught me.

After briefly checking the other possibly semi-unconscious guards I made my way down the hallway I had marked on my map. The walk itself was quiet and uneventful. After leaving the first room of the warehouse the rest of the building seemed like one would assume a military base would appear, dull and metallic. My footsteps echoed in the wide hallway and I swear I could hear my own heart beat.

Strangely enough the quiet unnerved me. I didn't notice right away but I was completely tense and wary, my red eyes looking every which way as I moved. Multiple spots on my body continued to itch, to which I tried to ignore, but an unsettling heat began to sink beneath my costume that was growing more and more suffocating, and for the first time in my life I desperately wished for a voice to fill the void of silence.

That wish was soon, if not immediately, answered when a horrible scream suddenly filled the expanse of the hallway. I literally jumped back misstep, the sound being that loud and sudden. I grabbed my cloak as a reflex but I didn't immediately teleport. The scream died quickly, though I could still faintly hear it travel down the hall behind me. Was it more of Red-X's sloppy work…or something worse?"

Still gripping my cape I continued down the hallway, the strange heat and emptiness feeling gone and forgotten. Getting these blue prints might turn out to not be as simple as it seemed. Like that was a big surprise.

I picked up the pace when I noticed the end of the hallway spilt off in a few more directions. Confused, I pulled out my map, the hallway I believed I was on should not be splitting in any direction…I should be inside the giant room right now…

After looking from the map to the splitting hallways a few times I began to grow frustrated and itchy again. Perhaps I was on the wrong floor…

So, gripping my cape once again, I leapt into the air and pulled it around my body. Removing it again a moment later brought a cold blast of air to my face. Shaking away the sudden shock I looked around me and quickly realized I was standing on the roof of the warehouse.

This is impossible, I thought to myself as I walked slowly across the roof, staring up at the numerous stars in the sky. I had only gone up two stories…this building had to have at least four…

I looked back at my map…but now it seemed like the all the rooms had changed! The giant room that took up a third of the building seemed to have disappeared entirely, replaced by a multitude of tiny rooms. I stared at the map in disbelief, was this some kind of joke? Was Blackfire sending me on some kind of wild goose chase? In a sudden fit of aggravation I crumbled up the map and threw it, I watched as it sailed through the air and hit an unsuspecting guard taking a smoke break against the ledge of the roof.

"What the…hell!" The guard exclaimed, dropping his cigarette as he jumped in surprised, fumbling with his rifle he quickly caught sight of me in the dark, "Who the hell are you! Hands up or I'll shoot!"

I moved before the guard had time to regain his composure. I ran, pulling the cape around my shoulders and, reaching the edge of the roof, I leapt off. I threw the cape around me, preparing myself to land back into the hallway I was in previously, only to have my vision filled entirely by the backside of the guard I had just attempted to escape from. I heard him yell in surprise as I collided into him, sending us both into the ground.

"Get off me!" The guard screamed, flaring his arms around, a bright burst of pain hit me as his elbow collided with my nose. I quickly rolled away from him before his antics caused me anymore harm.

"Where did you go damnit!" The guard exclaimed fumbling for the gun in his panic. I looked over to the edge of the roof to find it balancing dangerously over it. I quickly walked over and kicked the gun the rest of the way off. Cradling my still throbbing nose I quickly searched for an exit, not desiring to use my cloak for the moment.

A tight grip on my shoulder reminded me of the guard I had momentarily forgotten.

"Found you!"

Instinctively I ducked as my other instinct turned me towards the guard, avoiding the fist he had waiting for me, and sent an open palm into the man's gut. Thankfully the guard seemed to indulge in more than just cigarettes as his gut was soft and doughy, the force of my palm was more than enough to lose his grip and have him double over. The guard fell to his knees and I quickly took the opportunity to put some space between us. The man remained there for a few moments, trying to catch his breath and I began debating whether to just quickly knock him out or try and figure out a way to interrogate him when he spoke.

"Are you working for that rogue scientist?" the gasped, looking up at me, though I couldn't make out any distinct features in the dark of the night, "Who is he damnit!"

I simply stared back at the guard. Even if I did have the answer and a voice to speak it I doubted it very much that I would tell him, he wasn't exactly in the position to be demanding answers. After several more seconds of silence the guard seemed to grasp the same thought as he coughed awkwardly before trying again.

"Whatever he's offering you…we would double it…triple it…anything, please if you have information on how to get to him…" I then heard him gasp in sudden realization and look over in the direction that I had thrown the map. We suddenly were on the same page again as the man tried to get up and I raced over to him. Before he could turn to face me I sent a hard kick into his gut.

The man let out a horrible gurgle, it sounded as if he was about to throw up before he fell back to the ground, wrapping his arms around his belly.

"Cheap shot…bastard…." The guard moaned. Without paying him any more mind I made my way over to where I believed the crumpled ball had landed. Before I could find it however, a particularly loud groan caught my attention.

"I have a message for that child thief, you mind giving it to him?"

I turned just in time to see the guard, still on the ground, with one hand keeping him up, the other holding a gun, pointing directly at me. Time slowed down in that moment and my body quickly switched into survival mode. Without wasting a second I ran straight at the man with the gun.

I could see his face now, even in the dark, it shone with fury, but was slowly shifting to surprise. I knew he would only have time to fire one shot before I was on top of him, I could only hoped it was a bad one. The guard fired and I felt instant, searing pain, but I ignored it long enough to get close enough to launch myself at him. Before the man could react our bodies collided once again and with a final burst of strength I threw my cape over everything, sending us into the cold darkness.

XxXxXxX

"Blackfire, I think something's wrong." Red-X spoke into the communicator device in his ear.

"What? More unexplained unconscious bodies?" he heard the Tamaranian's voice respond inside his head, "I'm sure it's just Wykkyd making bad use of his time."

"No, it's not that," Red- X said impatiently, stepping over a said unconscious guard as he made his way up a flight of stairs, "This map you gave me…I think it's of the wrong building or something…"

"…and why would you think that?" Blackfire's voice questioned, almost hesitantly.

"Well, for instance, I've been going up this flight of stairs for about thirty minutes, going up dozens of stories, and this map tells me this building only has four…and in fact…"

Red-X stopped when the stairs reached the next floor, peering through the doorway he let out a groan. "I swear I've seen that potted plant at least six times now. You know Blackfire, I'm starting to get the feeling you didn't tell me everything I needed to know."

"…listen Red-X, how much Zinotheum do you have?"

The thief was caught off guard by the questioned but a smile slowly grew beneath his mask. His fingers traced over the vials at his belt.

"Enough to turn this building into dust a couple hundred times, why?"

"I want you to go into that floor and start blasting through the walls; though I trust you know how to contain it enough not to bring this entire building down on us."

"But of course," Red-X replied, smile still on his face, "Though, may I ask, will there be a purpose to this?"

"Same purpose, different method. I will be sure to notify Fixit to avoid walls until you find him. Oh and if you need to change stories blast through floors or ceilings, is that clear? Avoid the stairs."

"Blow up things until I find Fixit and be sure to avoid stairs, loud and clear."

"Good. Radio silence until I contact you again, it might be traveling through our communication waves to."

"What might?" Red-X questioned, his curiosity sparked, though Blackfire didn't reply. The thief simply shook this off, already loosing himself to the excitement of his precious element. Red-X walked through the doorway, rubbing his hands together. It's been so long since he was last able to do this.

Walking up to the closest part of the wall near him, Red-X pressed a few unseen buttons on his wrist; he could already feel the heat begin to intensify on his palm.

"I always wondered what Robin planned for this." Red-X mused to himself, preparations done he walked closer to the wall and pressed his palm against it. He pushed against it until he felt the heat leave his hand. As soon as it was gone the thief raced away from his spot and through the doorway where the stairs were. Poking his head out, he spotted a small, red x on the wall, roughly the size of his hand.

"Three…" Red-X whispered to himself as he watched the x, "Two…One…."

The small x then began expanding, at a rapid rate. In less than a second the tiny x grew until it stretched across the entire expanse of the wall. It was only when it began to glow that Red-X hid his face. Though even through the doorway the thief could feel the intensity of the X and then…it was over. With a delighted sigh Red-X walked out of his cover and back into the hallway to examine his work.

The wall was gone. Simple as that. So little of its existence remained that one could almost believe that his warehouse was built without it. No rubble, no smoke, no mess at all. Just a bunch of now revealed, empty rooms, all missing a part of the wall that disappeared. Constantly checking the supports that remained before walking into each room, though none of them held any cowering scientists.

"Ah well," Red-X said with a shrug and a smile, already rubbing his hands together again, "More where that came from, plenty more."

XxXxXxX

Coldness, colder than the natural darkness that surrounded my almost daily journey, sunk deep into my core. I hardly felt the guard struggling against my grip. Not that it really mattered if he struggled or not, it was never a long journey.

And right on cue the journey was over. In a split moment the darkness had vanished, revealing the world before us, a solid steel wall.

The guard and I hit the wall with full force. I heard him grunt in surprise before I felt the impact myself. Instantly I felt the desire for a voice again as pain suddenly vibrated from my shoulder. I rolled for a minute across the cold steel floor, gripping my throbbing shoulder.

"My word, what in the devil was that!" I heard a voice call out, followed by, "Is that…that's Sherman! And…well I suppose that must be a Teen Titan the way he appeared out of nowhere like that."

"You idiots! Don't just stand around gawking, grab a sheet and tie the bastard up and let's see to the Titan, it looks like he was shot."

Through the haze of pain I could see several figures clad in white moving around the small room. Two of them grabbed a sheet and made their way to the fallen guard. The third made his way towards me. The pain in my shoulder flared up as I tried to maneuver away from him.

"Easy there Titan, I'm only here to help you," the man spoke as he reached me, he then kneeled down, "It looks like you're bleeding pretty badly there."

Confused, I reluctantly pulled my hand away and sure enough, my vision was filled by red. My hand was coated in a bright shade of blood.

"Now I'm a scientist, not a doctor, but getting this bullet out should be the first thing to do."

The man then extended a hand towards me but I flinched back away from him, holding out a halting hand. Before the man could try to argue, I used my bloody hand to pull the cape over my injured shoulder. Then, after taking a calming breath, I plunged my hand through the outside of the cape, and into the inside of my shoulder.

I could feel the screams desperately cry to claw their way out of my throat as I dug through the muscles in my shoulder, and as soon as I felt the hard metal of the bullet I gripped as many fingers as I could around it and pulled.

"Well I'll be damned." I heard the man breath as I felt the bullet leave my shoulder. I threw the accursed thing as hard as I could.

"Ow!" I heard a shrill voice cry, "What the bloody hell was that!"

"Never mind it," the man beside me snapped, "did you two take care of Sherman yet?"

"'Course we did, limey bastard is as limp as a noodle right now, must of hit his pretty little noggin' during that fall."

"Good, good. Now pass me another sheet, we need to get this Titan's wound cleaned up."

At those words I held up another halting hand.

"What? Don't tell me you have the powers to heal wounds as well?"

I shook my head and began to stand up. The man reached to assist me but I maneuvered myself away from him. After a few moments of stumbling I managed to stay up on shaky feet and, after looking around the bare room, made my way to the only remaining bed with a sheet. I felt the other scientist's eyes on my back as I tore strips of the sheet and wordlessly wrapped them over the wound in my shoulder. After tying it and making sure it was tight and secure I let my cloak fall over it, hiding it from view.

I looked around the small room as my vision began to clear. It had no windows and only one door. Two beds, both missing their covers, were pushed up against one wall; the only other furniture was a small work table in the corner with different colored vials, tubes, and other weird looking sciencey equipment. It reminded me of Gizmo's room.

"So, you are a Teen Titan then?" the scientist with the British accent asked, I turned in the direction of this voice to see a fairy tall and lankly man with short, curly hair and wide rimmed glasses. Behind him stood a shorter, but far wider man, he was completely bald and wore circular dark tinted glasses; he too was watching me with a look that I guessed to be curiosity.

I simply nodded to the tall one's question.

"Really now?" the tall one shared a look with the fat one, "I don't remember ever seeing you running around with those other colorful blokes, do you Stanley?"

The fat scientist merely shook his fat head.

"What does it matter?" a voice spoke up, I turned to see another scientist, shorter than his two companions but with slightly more muscle tone. His face looked as though he hadn't shaved in weeks, and he smelled, horribly. I tried to ignore this as he walked closer, smile on his face. "Titan or not he still brought us Sherman; we finally have something that might get us out of this hell!"

"Bastard…scientists…" a low voice mumbled.

"Oi! Speak of the devil!"

"Well, hey there Sherman, you remember me don't you?" the smallest of the scientists asked, smile still on his face as he walked over to Sherman and knelt down so that they were eye level.

"…Durmstraste?"

"Ah ah ah, let's skip the formalities, its Bosko, remember? Just, Bosko."

Sherman shared looks with the short man for only a short while longer before his eyes began to trail around the room. He looked over at the scientists, then at me, then at the vials on the table. When his journey ended he seemed to finally realize his situation and began to try and jerk his arms free from the bindings.

"Now, now, we can't have any of that," Bosko then shared a look with the fat scientist, "Stanley, you mind restraining him?"

The man simply nodded before going over to the small table. He silently grabbed a syringe and, inserting it in a vial with yellow colored liquid, extracted the chemical through the needle. He then walked nonchalantly over to the still squirming guard. Without any words Stanley stepped one foot over the guard's back and sat down roughly on top of him. Sherman let out a surprised grunt of pain and began to thrash more frantically until the fat scientist held the needle against his neck, the point pressed against his skin.

"Smart man." Bosko spoke as he watched Sherman's frozen form, "What you have mere millimeters from piercing your skin is a very potent serum that, upon contact with your blood stream, will send immense pain straight to your brain, prolonged effects of this will cause permanent paralysis in most of your body… and that's only what is certain."

"…What do you want?" The guard asked after taking a slow, careful breath.

"We want out of this room, and out of this god forsaken building." Bosko spoke in a hushed but deathly tone as he stared at Sherman, "I know Bradley knows how to get around this place, and you're going to tell me how he does it."

"What? I don't know anything about that!" Sherman said earnestly. Bosko and Stanley exchanged looks.

"Stanley."

"Wait…wait! Please don't!" the guard wailed as Stanley placed a steadying hand on his head, "I…I did over hear him telling his men to use their grenades and detonators… and to be careful of how they used them. But that's all, I swear! I went out to get a smoke break right after that…forgetting for a second about what I was doing and then I got lost as well!"

"So you say…" Bosko muttered, mostly to himself.

"Cheeky bastard is lying through his teeth," the British scientist spoke up, taking a few steps towards the fallen guard,"Grenades and detonators he says! And for what? To blow straight through the walls of this establishment? We know as good as our little friend here that the general is a smart bloke; he knows his men are blooming idiots! He would never have them blow through this building; they would have it crashing down on our bloody heads before you could say 'bloody brilliant!' and he knows it!"

"No, please! You don't understand!" Sherman cried when he noticed that Bosko seemed to take what his colleague said in consideration, "This whole thing has gotten into his head something bad, he'll do anything to reach the rogue scientist! Before I got lost a good number of our men had either been found dead or gone missing, and with his new orders to simply blow the place down the numbers will only rise!"

"Well that's just a damn shame, Sherman." Bosko muttered, his eyes never leaving the guard captain's face.

I watched this entire exchange from against the far wall. My shoulder, down through my arm, had fallen almost completely numb, with the occasional throb of pain, so it was easy to ignore. All of the scientists looked desperate, almost crazed, the guard seemed to have more control, but I could tell it wasn't an easy façade for him to keep up; the sweat nearly glistened off his face. I looked over at the only door in the room, thinking about how my teleportation acted up, even if it was unlocked, I somehow knew that it wouldn't matter.

"You…Titan, does your presence mean that the Teen Titans somehow learned of what is going on around here?"

My attention broke from the door when I realized that all eyes in the room were suddenly on me. Bosko's being the most intense. I simply stood there, not knowing how to respond, and it wasn't long before the small scientist lost his patience.

"Are you hearing me, Titan?" Bosko asked, standing up and facing me fully, "Are you and the others here to save us from this! Answer me damnit!"

"Oi, maybe he's that mute bloke, I heard some fellows talking about there being some new Titan who didn't speak." The British scientist chimed in helpfully.

"That doesn't mean he can't nod or shake his head." The small scientist spoke underneath his breath, his eyes still focused on me, "It is a simple yes or no question after all…"

I felt the cold touch of the wall before I even knew I had backed into it. Bosko took a determined step in my direction.

"So here's another simple question." Bosko said venomously as he slowly continued to approach, I grabbed the hem of my cloak with my good hand, not entirely sure what would happen in my condition, but prepared to do it none the less. Bosko then stopped his approach when we were only a few feet apart. He sneered.

"Are you a Titan…or not?"

I stood my ground, knowing that I wouldn't be able to give him an answer, and knowing that he was more than likely going to attack me. But, before anything at all could happen, I happened to look over past the fuming Bosko, to where Stanley still sat on top of the bounded guard. Sherman no longer looked frightened; in fact, he suddenly had a look of severe determination.

Before I could draw any conclusions Sherman burst into action. With what looked like his entire effort the guard managed to push himself up off the ground momentarily, using his chest and gut. While it was only for a moment it was enough to catch the distracted Stanley off guard and force him off. Without wasting a moment Sherman rolled across the ground, stopping when he reached one of the beds, with another force of effort the guard slowly pulled apart his arms, the sheets tearing loose. Bosko turned back around just as Stanley began to stand back up."

"Stanley-." Bosko began to order, only to be cut off when Sherman removed his now free hands from underneath the bed. I felt my stomach drop when I saw the pistol clenched in one of them. In less than a second Sherman aimed his pistol and fired, the single shot sailing right through Stanley's forehead.

The large scientist stood there for a moment, surprise and horror showing clear through his tinted glasses, before falling back down to the ground for the last time.

"Damnit Collins! I told you two to make sure it was tight enough!" Bosko roared, his fists clenched as he glared at Sherman.

"I…I thought…he…I…" the British scientist babbled as he backed into a wall, his eyes rapidly switching from Stanley's body, which now began leaking blood, to the gun in Sherman's hand.

"I didn't want to do this." Sherman breathed, his gun now aimed directly at Bosko, "But you god damned scientists did this, I know you did, whatever that damned rogue scientist is doing…I can't remember who he is, but I remember you three were his colleagues, you all worked together on that…whatever the hell that was…"

"You remember because you were stationed as our personal guard Sherman," Bosko said slowly, his eyes now on the gun, "You might not remember this, but you and your daughter came to visit us all the time when we were working, your girl was very interested in becoming a scientist herself…"

"Don't you dare talk about my daughter," Sherman hissed, his gun now pointing at Bosko's head, "It's because of you and your damn colleagues that she's probably…that she's…"

"Believe me, my colleague acted on his own, he abandoned us and left us in this prison. Like you, I don't remember who he is; I just know that he exists. But we are just as much the victims as you are, trust me."

"Victims!" the guard exclaimed, spitting out the world, "You have no idea what it feels like to lose someone close to you!"

"You just shot my friend in cold blood," Bosko said, his words coming out cold and slow as he glared at Sherman, "I believe I have an idea of what you're feeling."

The guard paused at this, his eyes glancing over at the fallen body on the ground. A large pool of blood was now forming around the head.

"I do what I have to." Sherman said, quietly, his gun still pointed as Bosko as he turned his attention back to the small scientist, "Don't make this harder than it needs to, if you let me knock you out and bind you I promise that will be the end of it, I just want my daughter."

"If you leave this room you'll be a dead man," Bosko insisted, "If you walk out that door you will lose all chances to find your girl, you know that."

"I don't know that!" Sherman shouted, taking a few steps towards Bosko, gun still pointed at him, "Maybe I will run into the general or another guard…or someone…" Sherman looked completely helpless in that moment, but when Bosko took a step towards him he instantly regained his focus and he put his back against the wall, inching his way towards the door.

"I'm going now," Sherman spoke, his gun going between the three of us now as he made his way closer to the door, "No one try anything stupid."

"I'm sorry, Sherman, but I can't let you go, you might be the only chance I have to get out of here." Bosko said, taking a few steps in Sherman's direction.

"Don't take another step!" Sherman cried, his gun now pointing solely at Bosko again, "I swear I will shoot!"

I watched as Bosko halted for a moment, the determination still in his eyes. If I wanted to I could try to go for the guard, to grab his gun, though I knew from experience he was a quick shot, and I couldn't risk another one of those. Thankfully, I didn't have to.

"The bloody hell you are!" a shrill voice cried, and I watched as Collins raced across the small room. Sherman turned with his gun on a dime, as if he was expecting this, and fired. Collins recoiled from the shot but his pace hardly faltered and he barreled into the guard, took the hidden syringe he held in his hand and jammed it into Sherman's thick neck.

Sherman let out a howl of pain and Collins fell off off him and on to the floor. Whatever color remained in the thin scientist's face drained away as a red plume began to spread out of the hole in his chest. The guard grunted as he pulled the needle out of his neck, though as soon as he did he appeared to have lost his balance as he fell into the wall and slid down.

"Damn scientists…" Sherman growled as he tried to stand with little success.

"I'm sorry Sherman, but I can't have you leave." Bosko said with finality, he then turned his attention to me, "Grab more sheets and tie him up, and please make sure you do a better job than my colleagues di-."

Bosko was cut off however when a loud shot rang through the small room. The small scientist was then on the ground, gripping his now bleeding leg.

"Damnit Collins!" Bosko roared to the dead scientist, "The fool didn't use enough serum…"

I looked from Bosko to the guard now sitting against the wall, his gun forever pointed at the remaining scientist.

"You…will….not…keep me…from my….daughter…" Sherman swore, sweat dripping down his face, his massive gut rising and falling rapidly. I stood rooted in place as his finger began to squeeze the trigger. Do I risk my own life for someone I didn't even know? Could I just watch as he killed another person in cold blood?

Before I could reach some sort of conclusion the wall behind the guard began to glow red. It was dull at first, but in mere seconds the brightness increased so much that I had to cover my eyes, even then I could still see red through the blackness. I heard Bosko gasp in a mixture of pain and surprise somewhere near me.

"What…in the…hell…?" I heard Sherman breathe. The brightness then got so intense that even through my eyelids and cloak I thought I was going to go blind. Then…nothing. The light dulled from behind my eye lids and I know longer heard the guard's breathing or threats.

"Christ…" I heard Bosko gasp before I finally dared to open my eyes. What I saw took a moment for my brain to comprehend. Both the guard and the wall he had been leaning against had vanished, entirely. The walls, ceiling, and floor that were previously attached to it now simply stopped in mid air, as if there never was a wall they were connected with.

As my brain still tried to make sense about what was going on a dark cloaked figure stepped into the newly opened space. His skull mask focused immediately on me.

"So this is where you've been hiding, eh?" Red-X asked, hands on his hips as he looked from me to around the room, his focus stopped momentarily on the bodies on the floor, "Killing people now? I didn't think that was your style."

I shook my head hopelessly, knowing I couldn't explain even if I wanted to.

"Red-X?" Bosko muttered I looked over to see the small scientist still gripping his bleeding leg, sweat dripping down his face; he then looked over at me, "Guess that means you aren't a Titan then."

I shook my head, not seeing any point to stall anymore.

"Then… what are a couple of crooks doing in a military warehouse?"

"Well that's none of your business now is it?" Red-X said with a wag of the finger, he then stepped away from the room, "This room is a dead end to I guess, c'mon Wykkyd, this search will go a lot smoother without having to wonder what sort of trouble you're getting into."

I let out a silent, annoyed sigh before making my way over to him.

"Wait!" Bosko cried out, Red-X and I turned our attention to him again, the small man was still standing on his injured leg, though it seemed with great effort, "If, by chance, you're trying to reach the major laboratory, I can take you there. The bastard may have erased my memories of who he was but I still know where we worked on our major project! If he is going to cause this much trouble over something-I bet you anything it's going to be that."

"You don't say?" Red-X spoke, hands on his hips as he studied the scientist, "It just so happens my employer may be interested in that, mind filling us in on what it is exactly?"

"There isn't any time!" Bosko nearly shouted, finally succumbing to the pain he fell to the floor, breathing heavily, "He has been loose…for almost a week…if we don't reach him soon…"

Bosko took in a deep breath, his face growing a few shades paler.

"Losing too much blood eh?" Red-X observed, looking down at the scientist's leg, he then let out an annoyed sigh, "We'll if you're going to be any use to us we're going to have to do something about that leg."

Seeing it as my cue I began to walk towards the man. Bosko observed me with suspicious eyes.

"You're not going to…stick your hand inside my leg…are you?"

"Oh? You're going to go through all that trouble Wykkyd?" the thief asked, walking over to the work table and picking up a rather sharp looking saw, "I was going to suggest we just cut the thing off."

Bosko seemed to grow even paler, though not from loss of blood. He shared one final look with me before closing his eyes tight and burying his face into one of his arms.

"Just make it quick, damnit!"

I nodded silently before walking over to the scientist and kneeled down beside him. His free hand still gripped the wound; I managed to pry it away with some effort, revealing the rather small hole in his thigh. Without another pause I pulled my cape over his leg and with one deep breath I plunged my hand through the fabric.

"Son of a-!" Bosko cried out, but he caught himself in his own shout when he realized it was already over. I was already standing over him, a bleeding bullet held tightly between my fingers as I presented it to him.

"I think I'm…going to….faint."

"Not until you show us where to go you're not!" Red-X ordered, ripping off more of the sheet that had already been ripped. He then quickly walked over to the bleeding scientist and wrapped it tightly around his wound.

"Now then, can you stand?"

Bosko looked from Red-X to me, unsure of himself, and taking a deep breath the small scientist tried to lift himself, but only managed to stay on his feet for no more than a second before falling against me.

"It's all I can do to stand," Bosko muttered, gripping my shoulder for support, "Damn Sherman was always a good shot..."

"Fine, fine, I might have something that will make you slightly more useful," Red-X said mostly to himself as he dug in the bags that clung to his belt, with a satisfied grunt he pulled out what looked like a small metallic rod, "Here."

Red-X then casually tossed the rod, which quickly expanded to the length of a staff before falling into the extended hand of the scientist. Bosko and I looked at the very familiar weapon, then at the thief who stole it.

"It was a gift from an old friend." Red-X replied casually, a rather large smile in his voice.

XxXxXxX