Chapter V

Heroes Aren't Born

Nightwing looked around.

His head still buzzed from whatever the Scarlet Spider had hit him with. Now that he was awake, he became aware that he was held aloft by chains around his wrists and ankles.

His first wild reaction was to make sure Starfire was okay. He saw her, hanging hext to him, awake as well.

"Starfire!" he cried out. But she didn't look at him. He saw Raven on her other side, awake as well, and mad as hell.

"You're awake," said the voice of a tall, well muscled man. He was clad in a black and red combat suit. "It took you a little longer than your not-fully human friends."

Nightwing pulled at his bonds, testing their strength. They were well linked, and he realized that he wouldn't get out without help.

"Okay," he said, his tongue feeling fat. "You must be Hunter."

"Warren," Raven corrected. The man, Warren, turned to her.

"Ah, you learned my real name," he said. "Good for you, although I must admit I'm staggered. How on earth did you learn?"

"Not-fully human," Raven spat. "These chains can't hold me."

She proved it by turning the chains black. Soon, they disintegrated into dust, and she was free. Starfire just hung there, not doing anything. Her emerald eyes were almost closed. Nightwing couldn't understand it.

"Raven!" he shouted, to remind her that she had two teammates trapped. She waved her hand distractedly.

Nightwing and Starfire fell with a clatter. He pulled out his eschrima sticks, and threw them in Warren's direction.

"You cloned me!" he yelled, watching the man catch the batons with ease. "Why?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Warren asked. "Your genome is perfect. Trained since a young age to be the ultimate fighter. But still, you were only human."

"I think I know what happened," Raven cut in, floating dangerously. "You came here from your universe, found Nightwing, tried to recreate your successful experiments on cloning Spider-Man, and failed."

"Very discerning," Warren smiled. "But not only that... I had to heal myself. No doubt, you're aware that I myself am a clone."

Raven nodded. Nightwing felt stunned.

"I can see how you'd really come to hate this clone thing," he mumbled.

"The journey here... it almost killed me. Reduced me from the Jackal to a pitiful form. But now, reborn, I am ready to lead an army of clones upon the world!"

He laughed sardonically, pretending to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Just joking, of course," he said. "I'm nowhere near close enough to clone on that scale. The funding on that would be enormous."

"What about the funding for one clone?" Nightwing asked, edging over to Starfire. "I worked with the Batman, and his stuff wasn't cheap. Human cloning... that's expensive."

"Very perceptive," Warren said warmly, as if he was a professor teaching a class of prodigies. "Unfortunately, that must remain my secret for the time being."

"No, it doesn't," Nightwing growled. He made to leap at Warren, but the other held up his hand. In it was a detonator.

"I don't plan to blow up this building," Warren said. "Merely the brain cords connecting your alien friend's brain to the rest of her pretty body."

Nightwing looked aghast at Star, who now showed tears in her eyes. She had felt the intruding device on her neck.

"I did not say anything," she whispered. "Please, Nightwing, forget about me. That is what you must do as leader, right?"

Tears came to Nightwing's eyes, and he realized just how much he loved this girl.

"No way," he choked. "Koriand'r."

Starfire looked up, her eyes shining with tears, shed and unshed.

"How sweet," Warren smiled. "Tell you what... after twenty minutes, the bomb will be automatically disabled. Ask your witch friend if this is true."

Nightwing glanced at Raven, who nodded.

"In those twenty minutes, you will do nothing to impede my escape," he went on. "That way, everyone lives."

He gasped. So did everyone else as a red blade forced itself through his chest.

"Like hell," whispered Red X. "Jackal."

He ripped the detonator out of the dying man's hand, and carefully disabled it. He nodded to Nightwing, who recovered from his surprise, and ripped the bomb off the back of Star's neck.

When he had done this, he stared into her eyes, and she kissed him, and he kissed her back. No words were spoken, because no words were necessary.

They were together again. Nothing short of titanium would break that bond.

One Day Later

X looked around at the assembled Titans.

They were sitting in the newly refurbished living room, cleaned out after Warren's occupation. Raven had her head on Peter's shoulder, and Kory was gazing at Dick with adoration and happiness.

Dick was standing up, addressing the Titans.

"Well," he said. "That was an interesting week."

Small chuckles went around the group. But then Dick's face grew serious.

"We found allies in former enemies," he went on, nodding toward X and Kommand'r, who were sitting very close together. "Without them, we'd probably not have won this."

He paused to let the others pat the two on the back, or say something encouraging. X felt his face burn, and he looked down.

"Even though there was some... bumps along the way," Dick said delicately, "we persevered. That's what makes us Teen Titans. All of us."

He held out two Titan communicators to X and "Kandi" as they had taken to calling her. X stared at it as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't. It was too much to believe.

But as he grabbed his own comm, Dick grabbed his hand.

"As Titans, we don't kill," he said. "I'm not saying what you did was right or wrong... I'm just saying I hope you found some peace from it."

X smiled.

"I did."

He wasn't about to confide that while Warren's death was personal, the Scarlet Spider's death was mere expedience. He knew the dangers of an empty shell of a clone wandering the world.

But maybe he did have something personal with Scarlet... he showed what X could have become.

"Good," Dick said, releasing X's hand.

Kandi didn't say anything. She just looked at the communicator. Kory gave her a big hug, which she returned.

"So, party in the basement?" Peter said at this point, and everybody laughed. "Or, heck, we can just hook up a disco ball in here!"

Victor's eyes lit up, but Dick quickly squashed that idea.

Later, Raven sat alone with Peter, high atop the Tower.

"Hey, you," she said, nudging him. He didn't look at her, just continued to stare out at the sun setting. The rain had gone away, and the sky was lit up with a beautiful crimson orange glow.

"Feels weird," he said. "Another clone dies. Every time I think of that, it feels like I've died all over again."

She looked into his face, startled.

"But it wasn't," she said. "I mean, it wasn't you. Clones are their own person, aren't they? I mean, X is more like Dick's brother than a perfect copy."

"True," Peter conceded. And then he added, "You know, I never even saw his face."

"Scarlet Spider?" Raven asked. He nodded. "Maybe that's better."

"Maybe." He looked into her eyes, so deep and beautiful. "Hey, I got an idea."

"What?"

"Let's make out."

She laughed again, submitting to a deep, passionate kiss.

Elsewhere, Dick had placed his hand on X's shoulder.

"So what are your plans?" he asked, looking into the eyes that were so like his own, yet so different.

X shrugged.

"Thought we'd stay here for a while," he said, referring to himself and Kandi. "If that's alright."

"Of course it is," Dick said. "Brother."

X grinned.

Yes, he truly was Dick's brother now. Not his clone, but a full human being in his own right.

As he got into bed later, he remembered that he didn't have a name yet.

Ah well... he'd figure it out in the morning.

The fact that he had a morning to wake up to was all the sweeter for it.