Beginning to wrap this story up. After the last chapter, I'll conclude Tim Drake's tale, as well. And then I'll take another break and write about Batman/Code Geass! Should be fun, right?

Chapter IV

Crossroads

Peter groaned, looking up. His vision was blurred, but when he blinked, it cleared.

Surprisingly, he wasn't bound by chains, or entrapped on an operating table. He was just... lying.

When he sat up, he realized that he was wearing jeans and a jacket over his costume, and his mask was gone. He also wasn't wearing his gloves, but a quick inspection of the room he was in revealed them on a bedside table.

He realized that he was in a motel room, and the door was open. He heard the quiet sounds of people whispering, and it sounded like an argument was going on.

Peter stood up, walking over to the door, and looking out. The main room was tiny and sitting or standing around it was a group of teenagers. It took Peter a while to recognize them as the Teen Titans, or at least some of them.

Victor Stone was using one of his holograms, looking like a regular high school senior, with blue hoodie and jeans. Garfield Logan was, oddly, wearing paintball gear, with full face mask. Blackfire looked stunning in a cropped top and low riding designer jeans. And Dick Grayson...

Peter had to look twice before he realized that it wasn't Dick at all, but Red X, clad in a simple grey shirt with sleeves rolled up, and black pants. A bored look was on his face, but intense emotion was betrayed by his ice-blue eyes, lighter and colder than Dick's ever were.

Peter walked in, clearing his throat.

"'Scuse me, but I don't seem to remember what I drank last night," he said. "Where are we?"

Blackfire turned her purple eyes to him, while X scoffed. But it was Vic who answered.

"We got a distress call at the Tower," he said dully. "Raven said something about you being tranked and the Scarlet Spider beating the crap out of you. Unsurprisingly, Raven lost radio contact, so we tore after her."

"All of us," X growled. "Beast Boy here opted to remain at the Tower as an operator." He jerked his thumb toward the paintball clad Gar. Peter raised his eyebrow.

"We showed up," Vic went on, "and got our asses handed to us by your clone. Man, that guy is insane. Took Nightwing and Star down fast. He's ruthless, like fighting a mini Slade."

X didn't cut in. Blackfire was looking dejected. Peter looked around again.

"So why are we here and why are we dressed like normal kids?" Peter asked. "And Gar like... like that."

8 Hours Earlier

"Run!"

The cry was unnecessary, but it gave X a feeling of control, which was something he desperately wanted in this situation.

The Scarlet Spider was more powerful than any of them realized. Starfire had been trapped in the web, and Nightwing had been stunned by one of the random darts that had plagued the Titans throughout the battle. They couldn't find the source, although X was sure it was Hunter. But he couldn't find him.

Now the Titans were retreating from the cavalcade of missiles that were chasing them through the streets.

"AH!"

X turned back to see Blackfire fall as a missile hit her. Had she been human, she would have died, but thankfully her Tamaranean heritage saved her. She had been knocked unconscious, however.

Without thinking, X tapped his teleporter, using the little Zynothium that he had found at Titans' Tower. An instant later, he had scooper her up in his arms amidst the roar of flame. He reappeared next to Cyborg.

"The Tower!" Cyborg yelled. "What happened?!"

From the end of the street, they could see the little island that the Tower stood upon. It was in flames, with giant holes in it. A small black dot appeared in the sky, which solidified into a figure in paintball armor.

Cyborg caught Beast Boy, as it turned out, and looked at X, anguish in his face.

"Spider-Man," X said tersely, handing Blackfire over to Cyborg. "The others will be safe... well, alive at least. But Hunter doesn't need Spider-Man, he'll just kill him."

Cyborg nodded, giving X a tracker to locate them later. In an instant, X vanished.

Now

Peter stared at X.

"You saved me?" he asked. "Me, but not Raven? Or the others?" X was shaking his head.

"They were already gone," he replied. "Scarlet Spider was about to kill you."

"X'hal, what a paradox," Blackfire said. Peter turned to her.

"Oh yeah?" he snapped. "How do we know that you aren't working with them, Blackfire?"

X grabbed his arm.

"Her name's Kommand'r," he said in a deadly quiet voice. "And no, she's not working with them."

Peter shook off his hand, glaring at him as well.

"I notice it's not your girlfriend they ended up capturing," he said savagely. Vic now stepped in.

"Enough!" he said. "We need to figure out what we're gonna do next."

"We find Raven and the others, beat up Hunter, or Warren, and my clone," Peter said shortly. "End of story."

"I agree," Gar pitched in, raising the mask of his helmet. "They got three Titans, we gotta go get them back!"

"And then what?" X asked. "Hunter just lets you walk away? Or do we just let him walk away?"

"We take him to jail," Vic said firmly, but X shook his head.

"What about the clone?" X asked. "Are we gonna send him to jail, too?"

There was an awkward silence, and Peter couldn't come up with a good answer. Granted, most of his clones had died, but the perfect ones didn't.

It was Kommand'r who came up with the answer.

"We kill him," she said. "I can do it."

"No," Peter said automatically. "We can't do that, we're supposed to be the heroes."

"We are heroes," Vic agreed. "We can't kill anyone." Garfield nodded. But X scoffed.

"You really think like that?" he asked. "Heroes... the world's full of them. But it's only the ones who are prepared to do whatever's necessary that keeps people safe."

"Sounds like means to an end," Peter said through clenched teeth. "And I don't think like that at all."

"C'mon, guys, we need to focus here," Gar said. "Do we even know where to start looking?"

Peter nodded without turning his gaze from X.

"I can track Scarlet Spider," he said. "A tingle in my spider sense. It's on right now, as we speak. Very irritating, and I can't turn it off. So let's go find him."

He turned to go. X put a hand on his shoulder.

"Finding Scarlet Spider won't be a big issue," he said. "He's been swinging all over the city, pillaging and plundering at his discretion. Locating him will be no problem."

"So?" Peter grumbled, annoyed that the constant tingle wasn't going to be of use.

"He's a blank page," X went on. "Hunter made me a clone of Richard Grayson, with full mind and personality. That's why I went rogue. He corrected that mistake with Scarlet. All he knows is his training and his loyalty. We can't make him give up Hunter."

"His name's Warren," Peter corrected, but saw X's point. "So what?"

"They moved into Titans' Tower," Vic said disparagingly. "It's their base now. They rewrote the security system, as well as barring my own programs from entering."

"Okay, then let's GO BREAK INTO THE TOWER," Peter said loudly. "C'mon, we're Teen Titans, for God's sake. We have a freakin' alien on our team!" He gestured to Kommand'r, who didn't look offended by his remark.

"We split up," Vic said, taking Peter's point. "Pete, you, X, and Blackfire keep an eye on Scarlet Spider. He's the biggest problem to breaking in. Soon's he hears of a breach, he'll be over to kick our asses... again. BB and I will recon the Tower, and let you know the ideal moment to strike."

Peter nodded. It was, at least, an active plan.

NOW

Spider-Man, Blackfire, and Red X engaged the Scarlet Spider.

The crimson-clad foe didn't appear to be surprised by the sudden appearance of three Titans, and aimed his rocket launcher at them.

"Hey, noob!" Spider-Man yelled, shooting web into the barrel. "No power weapons!"

He wisely didn't try to fire, but merely ripped the web off. By that time, the three teens had closed the distance and using heavy explosions was suicidal.

Crap, he might just be, Peter thought.

A three-pronged attack wasn't too hard for Scarlet, but Spidey's blows didn't come with an extra warning, so he saw the need to give him some webbing to eat. Spidey merely shook it off. He landed a solid blow on Scarlet's jaw.

"That's for taking Raven!" he said, getting another good one in. "And that's for being me!"

By this time, Blackfire had established a ring of energy fire around them. X hadn't made his move yet.

"Your turn," Spidey said, backing away. Scarlet Spider leapt at him, not saying a word. It was creepy.

Not as creepy as Red X materializing right in front of Scarlet Spider, a red blade in his hand.

"X!" Spidey yelled. "NO!"

Shunk.

The sickening sound of flesh and bone being stabbed resounded in the courtyard. The rain really began to pour down, hiding any trace of blood that should have been spurting everywhere.

But it wasn't blood that poured out. It was ash and dust.

"In pace requiem," X whispered as he lowered the feeble remains of the clone of Peter Parker to the ground.

Ooh, burn.