Cyanocitta

Hello again everyone! This is a really action-y chapter, so if you're not interested in long battle scenes, feel free to skim =) Thank you once again for all the lovely reviews!

viii. the places that scare you

"Found Blackfire. Will engage, over," Red X repeated for the third time, hitting the communicator as if violence would get the message across. Well, it worked for the car. The plan had been proceeding smoothly so far; the Schlurchs were no physical threat to him at all. With the exception that the ooze from the aliens made most hallways a glorified slip'n slide, bypassing them and letting Speedy take care of them was all too easy. Well, with the exception that they were equipped with laser guns and had melted through the right arm on his suit. So, despite the burn on his arm, the Schlurchs hadn't been too difficult. Especially with his suit's teleportation properties. Disabling security cameras hadn't been too hard; he'd had plenty of time to memorize Starfire's blueprint of the Tower - though it hadn't been exact.

But he finally found her. Starfire's sister. As he hid behind the wall, hearing her speak to what was another alien, he glanced around the wall to see that her back was facing him. In her hand, she had what he knew to be Starfire's collar controls. That had to be the only control - he'd been on the lookout for odd technology, and had checked everywhere except for the living room. He hadn't made his way up there. No doubt that was where the Titans were being held. But, he had someone in his way.

He waited until he heard their conversation came to a stop. He couldn't understand what they were saying, anyway. He assumed they were speaking Tamaranean. If the walkie-talkie communicator was more reliable, he might try getting a live translation from Starfire. He took a deep breath, ready to spring into action. It would only be a matter of time before they found out that they were being infiltrated.

Though some of his gadgets he had left with Starfire, he had another makeshift utility belt with the most important ones. With these and his own fighting expertise, he knew he could handle Blackfire. He had one advantage over her, though. He grinned underneath his mask when the room flashed red; being a result of Blackfire sneezing. She, like her sister, was allergic to metallic chromium. And guess who had fitted himself with a glove reinforced with just enough metallic chromium? He'd worn it around the past few days to get accustomed to the weight, but he was sure he was just as fast as before. It was the substance that Starfire had asked him and Speedy to pilfer.

Red X was told by Starfire that using Blackfire's allergies was not fair, but fortunately, he didn't give a damn about playing fair. Especially not when the fate of a city populated by so many people were at stake. Speedy, who opted against chromium-tipped arrows, congratulated him on his blatant gall.

"Ugh," He heard Blackfire groan. Luckily for him, he heard her start to mumble in English, "Why is there metallic chromium in this tower? Sister dear is more allergic than I am, the tower could not have it...you, go question the Titans! I shall find the source."

Red X rolled his eyes. Any person with half a brain would figure out that it was an intruder who brought chromium into the tower. Before he realized it, she was out in the hallway, having walked a few feet in front of him. He was glad he had hid in the natural shadow on the hallway, and he was also glad that Blackfire did not appear to be the most observant girl. He had two goals when handling Blackfire: to break the controls for Starfire's inhibitor collar, and shatter the Jewel of Charta.

"...X? Do...en...fire...over," The sharp static of Speedy's voice coming through made the black-haired girl whip around. Of course it would be inopportune timing. There went his ambush idea.

"Oh, what do we have -" The girl paused, sneezing. It was in that moment that Red X sprung into action, throwing a Xarang at her and launching himself in the air. Though she was recovering from her rather...explosive sneeze, she looked up at the right moment to shoot crimson eyebolts at the object, causing it to melt. However, she did not expect Red X flying at her in midair.

He extended a bo staff from his shoddy utility belt, pressing a button that made one end spark. As he was about to land, he swung the staff right towards her collarbone. Blackfire, however, blasted him with a red bolt that knocked him far back into the wall. He heard a crack as pain rippled through his back. The staff dropped from his grip as he fell to the floor.

'Woah...when Starfire said that the Jewel of Charta magnified a Tamaranean's powers, she wasn't kidding,' He thought, never remembering Starfire's angriest bursts having that much power. Groaning, he got to his knees, hearing Blackfire sneeze and rolling out of the danger zone. He didn't think an allergic reaction could be so dangerous.

As he rolled to the side, he swung his leg out and hit the back of her knees, making her fall. She sneezed again, and he took that time to gain an advantage. By the time she was done, Red X shot an X that trapped her, facedown.

"Oh, this trick again?" She asked, starting to struggle. He made sure he was out of the way of her eyebolts - he wouldn't get caught with that again. He knelt down beside her and felt her throat, his hand brushing against the jewel on her collar. "Touching a lady without her permission isn't very nice."

"Hate to break it to you, but you're no lady," Red X stated, about to unleash a shock through his glove when the X trapping her suddenly melted as she seemed to direct her eyebolts at the X. He had no time to react as she slammed the back of her head into his face, causing him to stumble back. He'd bitten his lip on accident, and the tang in his mouth brought light to the fact that his lip was bleeding.

'She's tough,' He thought, feeling his legs being kicked out from underneath him as Blackfire swept her legs to knock him down. Before he fell, he was able to twist himself around mid-air and catching himself with his hands, flipping himself away from her as he heard her sneeze.

Facing her, he saw that her eyes were no longer glowing. Her eyes were watery and red, and her face looked slightly puffed up. He snickered. "Don't you look beautiful," He remarked snidely, Blackfire catching onto his sarcasm.

"At least I show my face," She said, one hand on her hip while the other grasped the remote, "Why do you hide yours? Sister dear must have an ugly friend."

He rose an eyebrow. That gave him an idea. Blackfire might be dumb - and shallow enough - for it work. "Want to see the guy under the mask, kid?" He asked, poising himself. Her eyes were glowing red once more as her red bolts appearing on her hands.

"And reveal your identity to the Titans? I don't know of a thing that would irk you more," Blackfire said, and then added, "Really, I don't understand why Earth heroes try to keep their identities a secret."

"Well," He said, discreetly observing his surroundings to plot a path. There were no windows in the hallway they were in, or else he would've attempted to give Speedy the coordinates. Not that the communicator would have cooperated.

"If you want to reveal my identity, then you're going to have to catch me." He teleported past her and ran. He didn't expect to outrun - well, Blackfire was now flying after him - the Titan's sister. That wasn't his plan.

He felt another powerful bolt knock him forward, and though he was able to roll forwards to absorb the impact, a strong kick to his neck knocked him down. He wheezed, his airway temporarily closing on itself as a bruise formed around his neck. She kicked him so he was on his back, and stepped right on the laser burn on his arm. As she aggravated the burn, he sharply inhaled a breathe to keep himself from crying out. She smirked.

"Is that all?" Blackfire asked, her arms crossed. He said nothing, but let out a frustrated huff that made her smirk more malicious. "And you thought you were going to escape, huh? Sister dear must have infected you with her stupidity." She pinned him down, her knees on his stomach with her hands on his elbows. Blackfire's amazing strength kept him down.

The girl quickly unmasked him, and though he had been expecting the action, he flinched nonetheless. "Oh my...you're handsome. I'm surprised sister dear does have a good taste in men," The alien drawled, bringing her face close to him. "I wonder if you can kiss as good as you look?"

It was funny how this scenario was all too much like the one when he and Starfire had been mockfighting a few days ago. But it was precisely because of that experience that he knew what to do next. Before she could touch his lips, he headbutted her. The action startled her, making her jolt backwards.

Temporarily free of her strength, he drew his legs to himself and placed them on her hips. This further distanced them, and Blackfire was now holding back a sneeze that was preventing her from acting properly. He placed his hands behind him, palms on the ground as he lifted himself up and pushed off the girl to perform a backwards roll. The space between them was close, and he managed to kick her elbow upwards as he did so, making her drop the remote.

It fell to the floor. It was soon crushed underneath Jason's foot as his feet landed on the floor, successfully performing his backwards roll. "Sorry," A minute smirk crossed his face, "But you're just not my type."

She let out a cry, but the dramatic display of emotion was ruined by her sneezing. Jason brought out his communicator to see that it was mostly damaged from the battle. Being tossed around hadn't done much for it. He decided to try to contact them anyway, moving away from Blackfire. "Check Starfire's collar. Do you copy? Over," He said into the communicator, only to hear a burst of static and something that sounded like Speedy.

"...or...es...ver?" Was all he managed to get out of the message. Pocketing the communicator once more, he barely dodged one of Blackfire's bolts. They were larger now, and looking at the girl, he could tell he made her angry. Very angry.

"It's a shame, but I'm going to add more scars to that face of yours," Blackfire flew towards him at such speed that he had no time to react as he felt a hand around his throat, being shoved against a wall. One hand gripped his throat tightly, another gripped the hand that was reinforced with metallic chromium. She adjusted her hand so that they were now interlocking fingers.

"Look at that, we're holding hands," Blackfire sneered, a crimson bolt surrounding her hand. He flinched as he felt her melting the metal and his glove with her bolt. It was hot enough to burn through his heat-resistant glove. "And I thought you said I wasn't your type?"

"You're not," He choked, feeling a knee in his abdomen. She dug it in his stomach; all options of breathing were suddenly cut off as her grip tightened around his throat. He felt her hand heat up with the energy of her bolts. A blade shaped like an X appeared from his free glove, and he took no time in stabbing the girl in the leg. She dropped her knee as he withdrew the wrist-mounted blade from her leg, then using it to stab the arm that was constricting his airway.

She growled, throwing him to the floor as she withdrew her hand. The black-haired alien didn't let go of his hand, however, so a pop resounded from his shoulder. Jason winced and let an electric shock emit from what was left of his glove to get her to back off. However, his exposed skin was hit as well. All of the metallic chromium had melted and was now in such trace scatters across the area, it would not bother Blackfire as much.

He said nothing as he glanced at his hand; only his palm was exposed and burnt. His fingers were still covered with the material. But that was only part of the problem; he touched his dislocated shoulder. If he didn't relocate it soon, it would start to be a real hindrance. Jason's eyes flicked up as he heard Blackfire yelling orders at a Schlurch that entered the room. It appeared that Blackfire didn't want reinforcements. Hadn't she ever heard of hubris? Refusing reinforcements because she was confident that she would win was incredibly foolish - but fortunate for him.

He gritted his teeth as he saw that this was his chance to strike. She left herself completely open. He threw an X at her with his good glove, the X landing right on her jewel. The X exploded, sending her back. Jason stood, pushing the aching pulsating from everywhere to the back of his mind. He'd been through worse. Much worse.

She was on her feet in no time. Her eyes were now a sinister purple, her starbolts sharing the same color. She threw a barrage at him, and he began to run. He narrowly dodged one by jumping in the air, and then teleported towards her. Still in midair, he spun around for a kick to the side of her head. He kicked her just a milisecond before she shot her eyebolts at him, causing them to miss his face by inches. He landed deftly on his feet in relief.

The alien was livid when she rose. "I will not let my sister and her friends get the best of me again!" She seethed. Jason was all too familiar with the entire 'being overshadowed by prodigal sibling' dynamic, and unfortunately it seemed Blackfire was suffering from that same complex. Or at least some sort of variation. "I'm through going easy on you," She hissed, flying towards him.

"Oh? You were going easy on me? That explains it, kid," He taunted.

She shot her bolts at either side of him, so his only option was to turn around and run. When he saw her shadow catching up to him, Jason slid on the floor, letting Blackfire fly over him. As she did so, he quickly popped himself up and kicked the girl in the abdomen. He was on his feet as she dropped, and quickly he grabbed her elbow and wrist and then brought her forearm to his knee. He heard a nasty crack that resulted in her shrieking, which made him wince. He didn't break her arm - no, she was too strong for that - but he definitely fractured it.

And she was definitely mad. Sudden pain flooded his mouth as he realized Blackfire had punched him so hard that she cracked his jaw. Well, to be fair, he probably deserved that. Fracturing her arm wasn't a very nice move. Despite the fact that she only had one arm dispensable, it didn't stop her fury. Though he could block most of her swings, the impact still shook him, and blows that landed on his burned raw arm forced him to bite down on his lip. She was not holding back with her strength. He had no choice but immobilize her other arm.

When she threw another punch at him, he dodged it and grabbed her wrist firmly. He then stepped on her foot and with his other leg kicked her as hard as he could in the shoulder. A pop resounded as her face contorted in pain. Releasing her, he huffed, "How does a dislocated shoulder feel?"

She winced as she brought her fractured arm to her shoulder, using her strength to pop it back into place. Well, damn. There went the idea of immobilizing her.

"Better than how you're going to feel," She hissed, firing a bolt at him. It hit him square in the chest, causing him to stumble back into the wall. She flew to him at top speed, digging her first into his stomach. His world flashed black for a moment, but when it came back into view he desperately slammed his gloved hand on her back, placing an explosive X on her shoulder. Though the blast radius also blew him back, it got her off of him.

Jason fell to the floor, his breathing becoming ragged and tainted with blood seeping through his lips. It was a sickeningly bright color. 'Fuck, an organ must have ruptured,' He thought, his hand shakily touching his ribcage. He sucked in a deep breath as his fingers gingerly touched his side, pain spiking through him. She had to have cracked - or broken - one side of his ribcage. Luckily, it was just one.

Lying on his side, he fished out his communicator and silently pleaded with it to work. He smacked it against the floor a few times, hopefully allowing the battery to jostle. The static cleared for a moment, and Jason took that as his chance to call for back-up. It hurt his pride to ask for help, but he had grossly underestimated Blackfire's capabilities.

"Re-" Before he could start his sentence, the communciator was snatched out of his hand. He made a motion to rise, but a foot on his side made him change in mind. She applied just enough pressure to his cracked bones that it kept him temporarily immobile from the sheer pain.

"Hello, sister dear? I have your friend here. The handsome one. Say hello," Blackfire leaned down, holding the communciator near his mouth. She put more force on his ribs; Jason biting through his lip to keep himself from giving her the satisfaction of hearing him in pain. "I said, say hello." More pressure. He felt the urge to vomit as he heard more cracking. How the hell were the two related? One was a psychotic, vicious freak. The other was the sweetest person he'd ever met.

"H...H-Hello," He choked out, trying to keep his voice as even as he could. It hurt to move his jaw, but he wouldn't be curt with his words. Jason didn't want Starfire to worry. Though to be fair, he would enjoy seeing her unleash the asskicking that Blackfire deserved. "Y-Your h-h...house must b-be..." He took a deep breath, "...fun a-at h..holidays, cutie."

"I don't think she heard you," Blackfire smirked, digging her foot into his ribs just a bit more. He squeezed his eyes shut, his body freezing up. The fact that he was lying on his dislocated shoulder didn't help much, either. But his ribs. He groaned, opening his eyes just in time to see that the cavalry had arrived.

"You are wrong, sister. I did hear you."

And damn, did his friends look mad.