These Black Eyes

by P0ST

The ongoing adventures and experiences of the Teen Titans, as witnessed through the eyes of a silent newcomer.

163. Whispers part 6 final

163. Whispers part 6 Final

Red light.

Filtering through the cold, autumn air.

A bird or two streams through the crimson soup of the sunset.

Spiraling downwards, squirrels in the treetops nest themselves for a cold night.

Moths and other insects stir to life on the bodies of bark.

Raccoons scatter about the base of the trees.

A single deer trots along the underbrush and pauses.

A snake slithers through the grass in front of it and pierces through a line of hedges.

A hare hops out of the way of the snake and jumps down a wall of vines and caked earth.

Doves fly outward from a startled grove, their flapping wings echoing against the earthen barriers.

And ringing through the entrance to a dark, dark cave.

A cave……

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Tempest's eyes open.

He swivels around under water.

He kicks his feet against the bed of the river.

He shoots upward.

SPLOOOSH!!!

On the surface, he gasps as he switches from his gills to his lungs.

He whips out a water-proof communicator and speaks into it: "I've found it!"

"The hideout??"

"Yes, Robin!! It's a cave. Not too far from the eastern ridges."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

A green falcon glides overhead, an electronic conversation emanating through the air around it.

"Did you see any sign of Killer Moth or Viper?"

"No, just a cave. Call it a hunch, but I don't think that thing is as natural as it appears to be."

"Why's that?"

"There are vines all around the earthen wall of this particular alcove……but they break up as soon as they hit the cave entrance. As if they were sliced away."

"……………"

"What do we do, Robin?"

"Everybody fall in! Beast Boy! Go where Tempest directs you!"

The falcon shrieked.

Its beak seat firm.

Its wings shrunk in…

And it dived like an explosive shell towards the cliffaces of the mountain side.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Decker listened intently.

His hands tight against the steering wheel of the squad car.

"Starfire and I will follow close behind! We're a little too far off to be there first. So I leave it up to you guys!"

"We should wait for you two, right?"

"That's the best idea I've heard all day."

"Understood. I'm heading in. Beast Boy……stand by for directions."

"If you're listening too, Decker……I think we've got a positive!!"

"Who am I? Betty Crocker??" Decker grumbled.

He pulled hard at the steering wheel.

SCREEEEEEECH!!!!

The squad car spun through the street.

He evened it out in the opposite direction.

He slammed on the gas.

VRMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

Decker soared eastward along the mountainside.

"About friggin' time….," he whipped his pistol out and cocked it in a free hand.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The spectrum.

The spectrum.

White. Black. Red.

Centralize.

Focus.

Balance.

Black.

The black……

The murk………

I took a deep breath.

I clenched my shaded eyes shut.

My arms shook.

My limbs sweat.

My legs quivered.

I fought to maintain my meditation while continuing to shield the power core inside S.T.A.R. Labs.

I had Myrkblade stabbed deep into the cylindrical device, and my curtain of black murk was all that was keeping the mechanism from breeching or rupturing.

And an hour and a half into it, I was straining….to say the least.

I held my breath.

I summoned more and more smoke energy.

I breathed slowly.

I meditated.

The spectrum.

The spectrum.

I am the black.

I am the balance.

White maintains the shield.

Red pushes back the rupturing energies.

Black rests in the center.

Black breathes.

Black relaxes.

Black coordinates with the universe.

Construction.

Destruction.

I am the center……

Footsteps.

My black eyes opened.

More footsteps.

Shuddering, I looked over my numb shoulder.

Through the cracked door leading into the battle-strewn laboratory, two pairs of feet appeared.

Titanium feet.

Petite feet.

I exhaled.

Cyborg and Raven walked into view, tense, eyeing the scene.

"Well….looks like they're gone—WHOAH!!!" Cyborg gasped. "That's a scary dyke you've got your finger in, dawg!!"

I simpered weakly.

"Cyborg, what is it?" Raven asked with concern.

Cyborg slowly stepped towards me. "It's an antimatter flux container….for really high tech experiments. It would be an awful shame to all physical things in a half mile around us if the thing broke apart…"

"Enough said," Raven drifted forward. "Noir….brace yourself."

I nodded.

Raven meditated. Her eyes glowed and her fingers went into a nimble pose: "Azarath…Metrion….Zinthos…."

FLASH!!!!

A black talon encased the cylinder.

"Now, Noir! You can let go."

I whimpered happily.

YANK!!!

I pulled Myrkblade out of the rupture hole.

I stumbled back and landed exhaustedly on my butt.

Cyborg rushed over while Raven held the cylinder in place. He switched two of his fingers into electrical sparking tools. He operated on a panel in the back of the cylinder. Zzztt! Zz-zzt!! Zzzzzzt!! He licked his flesh lips. He sweated a bit….then relaxed with a smile. "There…."

Zzzt!!

VROMMMMMmmmmmmm……

The lights inside the cylinder died down. The antimatter flux disappeared with a metaphysical sigh.

I timed mine with it.

Raven knelt down and braced my shoulders softly from behind. "Are you okay??"

I smiled tiredly and nodded.

"You look beat, man…," Cyborg leaned down in front of me. "Good move saving a huge chunk of the City and stuff. How long were you doing that?"

"…………," I stared at him.

"Eh….never mind…," he stood up straight and gazed around the wrecked laboratory. He rubbed the human half of his head. "Tell me……..as much as we all like your bravery and stuff……..but…….that wasn't all you came here to do, was it Noir?"

I shook my head. I pointed at the wrecked scenery and hand-signed.

"So Viper was here….," Cyborg nodded.

I held a finger up. I added with a few short gestures.

Cyborg's human eye widened. "Say what?!?!"

"What is it?" Raven asked from behind me.

"He says Fang was here!! Fighting alongside Viper!!"

I nodded.

"On the same side?" Raven leaned her head to the side.

Cyborg rubbed his chin. "Fang has been on Killer Moth's side before. And he did escape from prison the same time the suited freak did. It'd make some sense of he was working for this whole chaotic plan or whatever too."

I took my shades off and tiredly rubbed my eyelids.

"Well, that's just perfect, dawg….," Cyborg paced around the laboratory. "Fang AND Viper we're having to deal with!!" A beat. He glanced at me. "Did they make off with what they came here for?"

'I guess……'

"Did you see what it was?"

'I did not catch a glimpse of it.'

"Well….looks like you put up a good fight."

I gave him a sarcastic look.

Raven stood up from behind me. "Am I the only one curious as to why there's been no bloodshed here?"

"????"

"…….?"

Cyborg and I both glanced at her curiously.

She gestured: "There isn't a single dead body on the grounds of S.T.A.R. Labs. And every scientist appears to be in good condition. No injuries whatsoever."

"Except Noir's ego."

I rolled my black eyes, stuck my shades back on, and stood up.

"What I mean to say is…," Raven droned, "…there hasn't been any murders. Nobody chopped to bits by Viper's blade. No missing limbs or heads."

"Yeah….fancy that….," Cyborg exhaled, gazing dazedly at the lengths of the room. "It's like he suddenly lost his touch!"

"Or maybe he was forced to keep his hands off so that there'd be no 'touch'," Raven said.

"………..," Cyborg's human eye squinted. "Are you insinuating that…."

Raven nodded. "Fang was here. That's a new factor that wasn't present at either the Dayton Chemical Works or Wayne Enterprises."

"Why would Fang have held Viper back from killing?"

"I'm not saying that he did," Raven pointed. "Viper could cleave Fang in two if he wanted to. But Fang and Killer Moth are two completely different people. Killer Moth may let Viper kill everyone under the sun and not think anything of it as long as his will is done. But Fang…"

"That's a different kind of duck altogether," Cyborg nodded. "Fang's a crook first, a murderer second. The more crimes he can commit without chopping people to bits, the more he can get away with without pressure of the law so heavily on his back compared to otherwise."

"If what Viper wants is only what he wants….," Raven spoke, "…he'll have to play his cards differently with Fang compared to Killer Moth. So…nobody died here. He wins Fang's favor….for now……"

"But what next??" Cyborg shrugged. "What is Viper planning? What's he got in store for Killer Moth and Fang?"

I stood up on wobbly legs. I groaned inwardly. I sheathed Myrkblade and hand-signed.

Cyborg blinked.

"What?" Raven asked.

Cyborg cleared his throat and said: "He's just reminding us that….that Viper's an assassin."

"……yeah……and?"

I clenched my teeth, hissed, and made a 'slitting' gesture along my throat.

Snkkkkkkkkt!!

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SWIIIIIISH!!!

Plop!!!!

A green falcon dropped into a green elf that landed on the earthen floor in a kneeling position.

"……."

Slowly, Beast Boy stood up. His pointy ears raised towards the sky. Green eyes blinked as he looked across the clearing.

A crescent shaped alcove had been formed into the earth, opening wide towards the edge of the mountainside where a huge drop plummeted towards the forested slopes below. A thin passageway—wide enough for a car—led towards the other edge of the elevated topography.

"…….."

Beast Boy slowly walked forward towards a line of rock covered in vines. He glanced down and saw his boots treading over tire tracks. Someone had been there.

Beast Boy looked forward again. There was a cave entrance in the middle of the vines. The top of the entrance was lined with slimy substance, as if a strange organic growth had previously been there.

The elf clenched his fists. He took a deep breath. He sauntered forward--

Clamp! A hand on his shoulder.

"!!!!!" Beast Boy spun around. He opened his mouth--

Decker covered his lips with a free hand. He raised the neck of his pistol to his lips and quietly hissed: "Shhhhh!!!"

Beast Boy yanked the hand off his mouth and exhaled: "Dude…," he uttered hoarsely. "Only superheroes are aloud to sneak! Don't do that to me ever again…….uhm……………….s-sir."

"I'll work on getting X-Ray vision later…," Decker pointed towards the cave. "This the place waterboy was talking about?"

"Yeah. He should be on his way too. As for Robin and Starfire—"

"There's no time…," Decker said. "I'm going in."

Beast Boy went bug-eyed. "B-But….But Commissioner!!" He hissed and trotted alongside the police chief. "Robin said…"

"Robin can lay an egg…," the man grunted as he walked towards the cave entrance, pistol raised. "Let's not forget whose in charge of what here. You're the Titans. I'm the City. Enough people have been dying in these last few days of holocaust…I need not let a bunch of superkids get slaughtered too. I'm going in first."

"But…but….but…."

"Mind your own 'butt'….," and the Commissioner let himself be swallowed by the cave.

"………..," Beast Boy wrung his fingers. He looked behind him at the clearing. "………." He looked back at the cave. "…….." He groaned. "Frickin'…stupid…..Max Payne wannabe……"

A beat.

A sigh.

The changeling scurried into the cave after him.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"………," Decker crept down the steps of the cave. Holding his gun at ready. He heard and sensed Beast Boy sneeking up and creeping alongside him, but he didn't look. The man kept his eyes on the darkness ahead. And gradually, the darkness gave way to light. Green, fluctuating light. Bubbling sensations like from that of a chemical factory.

Beast Boy gulped and kept close to the Commissioner's back.

The two emerged into the main interior of Killer Moth's hideout.

And they came to a stop.

Blinking.

Tables were overturned.

Chemical vials and equipment had been shattered and scattered and splattered across the stony floor.

Electrical devices lie in pieces.

Sparks shorted out from dark appliances.

Steam boiled upwards from a corner where leaked acid ate into the cavern floor.

"…….okay…..," Beast Boy blinked. "I think we just stepped into Robert Downey Jr.'s apartment."

"……," Decker took a step forward and scanned the interior once more. "This isn't a hideout. It's a massacre."

"Maybe K.M. knew that we were coming and decided to smash any and all evidence before we got here?"

"All the evidence is still here, Brute Boy. No…if Killer Moth had Viper on his side, we'd be dead by now. They'd spring an ambush. Hell…they may still be planning to do that."

Beast Boy gulped. "Uh…okay……c-can we go back to the surface now?"

"Grow a penis…," the Commissioner walked forward.

"…..," Beast Boys stared. "Dude, that was cruel….H-Hey! Wait up!!" he tagged along.

The Commissioner walked forward, pivoting all around with his gun at ready. His shoes crunched and crackled through a sea of shattered glass vials. He stepped over a table or two and found himself gazing towards a black cavern with an underground lake. Empty.

"…………."

Squeaking sounds.

"????"

"Look…," Beast Boy whispered.

Decker looked down at where the changeling pointed.

There were tiny larvae on the floor. Their squirming guts hanging out. Some of them were ripped and sliced to shreds as with a huge knife. The helpless creatures writhed and twitched on the floor before slowly, slowly dying.

"Killer Moth's larvae…..he wouldn't do that to his own 'children'…," Beast Boy remarked. "Something's wrong here."

The Commissioner sniffed. His brow furrowed. "I'd say…."

"What is it?"

The man swiveled around, pistol raised. "I smell blood."

Beast Boy bit his lip. He looked at where the Commissioner's gun was pointed.

A ripped curtain of silk was all that separated the main room from a rocky corridor leading into what looked like a study or office of sorts.

"Hey….you got a better nose we can use, kid?" the Commissioner asked.

Beast Boy nodded. He held his breath. He knelt down and morphed into a bloodhound. On four paws, he sauntered forward and sniffed the ground…the air….the ground again. He pointed his nose towards the room. The canine paused. A blink. He stood up and morphed back into an elf, gulping.

"What is it?"

Beast Boy shuddered: "I've smelled that before……only….only not the same way."

"Do you know what it is?"

"No…but I think I know who it is…," Beast Boy murmured. He looked up at the Commissioner. "Be careful, dude…."

Decker nodded. He cocked his pistol. He walked forward.

Beast Boy morphed into a velociraptor and trotted alongside the man. Sharp teeth and claws at ready.

Decker brushed aside the silken cocoon 'door' with one hand and ducked through the opening.

The green dinosaur slinked in alongside him.

The two went around a bend….and entered the small room.

And their feet splashed.

A pool of blood.

Both froze.

The dinosaur's eyes went wide and it shrunk back into an elf again. "Holy….H-Holy….."

Commissioner Decker's lips parted.

Fang lay on the floor.

On his back.

All four legs of his spider head had been ripped off before the first joint.

He had stab wounds all down his human torso and across his arachnid abdomen.

His right leg was near-dismembered by a blade. And his right human hand was missing.

Blood oozed out from two parts of his body…both human and mutant. It formed a literal sea of blood, half of which had turned black and was drying against the earth like brown-black burnt mold.

The two visitors glanced over and saw blood and ooze splattered across the walls of the room. The maps and journals of Killer Moth. And over in the corner—stacked like walking staffs inside an umbrella holder—were all of Fang's spidery legs. They bent over from their vertical holding and dripped…dripped…..dripped………dripped……

"Jesus Christ…..," Decker exhaled. Suddenly, he went into a flurry. He holstered his gun and knelt down. "Give me room."

Beast Boy blinked, eyes still locked on the grisly sight. "Wha-….Wh-What??"

"I said GIVE ME ROOM!!" Decker shoved Beast Boy back.

The changeling stumbled.

Decker crawled over the bloody carcass. He took his jacket off. He bent his head down and placed his ear against Fang's human chest.

"……………"

"Not gone. Not gone yet….," Decker pumped Fang's chest. He lowered his face to Fang's.

Beast Boy winced.

Decker planted his lips against Fang's oozing mandibles. He breathed into the mutant's mouth. He sat back up and pumped Fang's chest, counting with a whispering breath. After four pumps, he bent down again and continued the CPR.

Beast Boy bit his lip. He took a shaking step back.

"Come on….dammit….," Decker pumped the chest. "You're the last link. The last friggin' link!!!" He pressed his lips to Fang's mouth again.

"!!!!!!"

The butchered body shook.

Decker sat up just in time to avoid a gush of slime and blood coming out of Fang's crooked mouth.

Beast Boy blinked.

The bleeding mutant shook and shivered all over. Wheezing for breath. The bloody spider stubs around his face groped the air. Blood trailed down from his curling mandibles. Only two of his six eyes were open.

Decker was smeared all over from the reviving effort. He gripped Fang's shoulders. He hissed: "Listen….Listen to me…."

Fang gasped, ….

"Where….is Viper…..?"

"……………"

"Where did he go after he………after he did this to you……?"

Beast Boy looked at the Commissioner.

"V-Viper….."

Beast Boy looked at the speaker.

Fang hissed, spilling more ooze and blood. "Viper…..the dam…..the d-dam…"

"Dam?? What dam??" Decker uttered.

"Shepherd…D-Dam……," Fang wheezed. "He's going to Shepherd Dam…."

"……..," Decker sat up straight.

Fang coughed. His one solid limb lifted up and shook in the air. "The hive….h-he controls it now. He's….He's going to kill…..kill….."

"Kill who?"

"……….E-Everyone….."

A cold chill in the cave air.

Fang's lungs heaved. His last two eyes thinned. "The dam………Kitten……," his last limb fell to the wet floor. "Kitten….I'm……….."

"…………….."

Fang's body stopped moving.

The drips from his ripped legs echoed across the chamber.

"………………," Decker stood up. He was stained across his torso and on his knees with blood and spider guts. He picked up his coat. He looked Beast Boy's way. He whistled. "Hey. Kid."

Beast Boy shook to attention.

Decker's eyes were soft. "Call Robin. Tell him…..get his ass to Shepherd Dam. I'll meet him there."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"On my way!!" Robin shouted. He swerved the R-Cycle.

VRMMMMMM!!!!

He soared uphill, heading northeast.

He spoke into his helmet's communicator. "Follow Decker, Beast Boy. And tell Tempest to head towards the dam too!"

"You got it, dude."

"Starfire??"

"Yes, Robin??"

"Did you hear—"

"I did. Is Fang dead?"

Robin took a breath. "He won't be the first dead if we don't' move it."

"Where is this Shepherd Dam that the Commissioner is referring to?"

"Just follow the river upstream!"

"Which river, Robin?"

The Boy Wonder bit his lip. "The one that leads directly into the heart of the City…."

His motorcycle ripped down the country road towards its destination.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Grrrrr!!" Kitten pounded the wall of the second to the top level of the dam. She spun around from looking out the window towards the sunset-lit currents of the raging, southern river below. She paced across the maintenance corridor…walking back and forth across the location of her father. "Where are they?!?! Don't they know that this is the big one?!?! Don't they know that this is what will put us on the top?!?!"

"Patience, kitten….patience….," her father sharpened the points on his gloves. He stood in between planks of backup steel and coils of rusted barb wire piled up in the corner of the corridor. "The hive is already strong. The cocoons and eggs ready for hatching. The air need only remain cool and thin in autumn preparation for the banshee shrieks my children shall make when they make this City ours. Fang radioed us in an hour ago. They should be here….anytime now…"

"Well they'd BETTER BE!!! I want to be the princess of this region!! And I want it NOW!!!"

"Hehheheh….," Killer Moth shook his head. "And to think that after all these years of tolerating your insolence…..I would be rewarded for it."

She spun and glared at him. "And just what do you mean by THAT, Daddy?!?!"

Killer Moth smiled under his mask. "You make me proud, Kitten."

"……………"

"After all these years. These last few heists….you've performed remarkably."

"……………"

"You're a jewel to the family yet!"

"I…..I-I make you proud??" she murmured in a voice that she didn't' know was hers.

His masked face nodded. "We will all be duly rewarded. As soon as this City realizes the terror that we wield. We will be on top. I couldn't have done it without Viper….but I most certainly could not have done it with you."

"…………."

"We're all that we have left….but soon….we'll be sharing the City to ourselves," Killer Moth hissed. "Maybe we'll even have time to rebuild things."

She giggled. "Or get me a new Mommy!!"

Killer Moth rolled his head. "Heh….or I could get a grandchild."

"Pffft! Daddy…."

"One that does NOT have arachnid blood in him!!"

"What's the matter? I thought you liked bugs!!"

"Not THAT bug!!"

"Hehehehe…."

Killer Moth shook his head.

A buzzing sound.

The two looked over.

Six mutant moths lowered from a staircase leading in from the outer world. They hovered in the air before setting down on the ground, mandibles glistening.

"Uhm…..," Kitten blinked.

"Hey!!" Killer Moth shook. "Insolent drones!! What are you doing away from your posts?!?!"

The huge bugs merely stared. Hissing. Drooling.

"I think something's wrong with them, Daddy."

"Like Hell there is…," Killer Moth raised his fist and uttered loudly. "Command. Drones. Return!!"

"…………"

The bugs remained in place.

Kitten's lips parted.

Killer Moth heaved. He tilted his masked head to the side. He cleared his throat. He repeated: "Command. Drones…….Return!!"

Nothing.

Silence.

The drones stayed where they were.

"What gives??" Kitten blinked.

"I….I don't know….," Killer Moth stammered. "They…They're not responding to my voice….they're….." A beat. He cleared his voice again. "Command. Drones. Respond!"

Nothing.

Then….

From above.

"Command. Drones. Form line."

Immediately the bugs hissed and created a solid phalanx of insectoid menace.

Killer Moth and Kitten both jumped back.

A body leapt down from the stairway above. A body in a gray jumpsuit. A body with a broadsword strung over his shoulders.

"……….," Viper looked up. Bulbous eyes glaring. He slowly stood up. He cracked his neck. He marched forward.

"Viper!! What's going on?!?!" Killer Moth pointed. "My insects are not responding to my commands!! Are the Titans here? Have they tampered with my creations??"

"………," Viper marched towards him. Silent.

"Is anyone even listening to me?!?!" Killer Moth growled.

Kitten exhaled. "Wh-Where's Fang?"

Viper smiled. He pointed towards the two. The disc around his neck flashed red. "Command. Drones. Restrain!"

Killer Moth's jaw fell--

SWIIIIIISH!!!

Shrieking, all six insects flew down the corridor, breezed past Viper, and pounced upon Killer Moth and Kitten.

"AAAUGH!!"

"EEEEEEK!!!"

The father and daughter struggled in vain as the insects grabbed them with dozens of sharp legs and pinned them to opposite walls with silken strands of vomit.

"Nnnghhh!!" Killer Moth shook and strained to get out of his bonds.

Kitten panted, her eyes wide in fright.

The insects all around them drooled and prepared to chew into their flesh—

"Command. Drones. At ease."

At Viper's electronic 'voice', the moth mutants dropped to the floor and purred. Still. Waiting….

"……," Killer Moth looked at Viper. Mouth agape. "You….You….You can talk?"

Viper grinned. His lips didn't move. "I can walk on my hind quarters too. Ever noticed?"

"Oh god…Oh god…Oh god oh god oh god…," Kitten panicked.

"Shhh!! Darling!!" Killer Moth hissed. He looked Viper's way. "Why didn't you tell us before?"

"Wasn't in the mood."

"You were waiting, weren't you?? Waiting to betray us??"

"Dear sir….there wasn't much to wait for. You gave me all I needed. You gave me an escape route. You gave me a hideout. And now……you have given me the sickle of death itself."

"But…But…I don't understand….," Killer Moth gasped. "How were you able to command my children??"

"Simple. I reprogrammed them…," Viper gestured. "They would never do much of anything under your orders anyways…."

"But…But….."

Viper raised a finger to his disc. His eyes thinned. He tweaked the device. And in Killer Moths' voice he uttered: "I gave them a new 'daddy'…"

Kitten gasped.

Killer Moth stared. "You….You convinced them to follow your 'voice'…..by using mine."

Viper returned his voice to the normal electronic emotionless drone. His hands hung by his side. "Your entire hive…the hugest nest you ever made….is now under my complete and utter control."

"So you wanted to steal my operation…," Killer Moth snarled. "You wanted all the glory and control of this City for yourself!!"

Viper's eyes thinned. His lips curled. He slowly shook his head.

"What….th-then??" the masked man practically whimpered.

"I seek that which I always have sought. Even when I failed to realize that it was the core of my desires. I want death, you fool. I want the death of everything. I want to spill the world over with blood and make the angel of death envious. The world is an arena. And people like myself are gladiators. We rule the whim of the dying and dead men reigning over this futile political landscape. In the end….only we are respected. And I have such….such a score to make. Such a toll to slice into being and set precedents with."

"You're nuts!" Kitten gasped.

Viper turned somewhat. "Am I? Tell me…do you really think I want to rule the City with a handful of giant insects?? Those are the things of a child's dream. The chemicals in your birthing solution, Killer Moth…..," he faced the man once again and glared. "With help of the devices we stole…they will make a sister chemical to the nerve agent Sarin. And this dam….this river……...once I redirect and intensify the flow of water….I can send the quaff of death surging into the City. The water and mist will carry it into every avenue…into every nook and cranny of the urban landscape. Touching everyone….with the finger of death."

"That…..That w-would kill everyone…," Killer Moth stuttered. "Everyone in this county….Including us and you!!"

Viper smiled wide. "Yes. It will. But surely you know…..surely you know that I'm going to kill you two anyways…."

Killer Moth's jaw was set firm.

Kitten stammered: "No….N-No….you can't. You c---" Her eyes went wide. "Fang! Where's Fang??"

Viper turned and gazed at her. Eyes thin. "I…………stepped on him……"

Kitten's lips parted. A tear fell down her cheek.

"You won't get away with this….," Killer Moth shook in his silky restraints. "Nobody ever gets away with blatant, impulsive murders!! Don't you get it?!?! It's always about a ransom!! Gaining power!! Frightening people into submission!! What could a villain possibly gain from simply murdering hundreds of thousands of people in a single instant?!?!"

Viper gazed at him. "A new tilt…."

"A new tilt to what?"

"The Balance of Morals."

Killer Moth exhaled: "What???"

"You'll know it…," Viper grinned. CHIIIIIIIING!!!! "You'll be sharing the same wail with the educated souls poured into Hell tonight."

Th-Th-TH-THWISH!!! THWACK!!!!

Viper's broadword sang through the air of the corridor, and lopped off Killer Moth's right hand.

Kitten screamed.

Killer Moth's body twitched.

Viper twirled his sword again and dove in like a bread slicer.

Kitten's eyes convulsed as shadows of streaming liquid and convulsing limbs splashed across her face.

And she screamed.

And….

Footsteps.

The gray assassin.

Marching boots.

Th-Th-THWISH!!!!

A kiss of silver.

THWACK!!!

Kitten's hand flew into the air.

Her tearing eyes flew wide.

Her mouth stretched open---

PLANT!!

Viper's bloody hand clamped over her lips.

She shook and stared bug-eyed at him.

He leaned forward.

His lips moved: "Shhhhhhhh……," he cooed.

She quivered.

His lips curved…frozen.

"You haven't even begun to scream….."

Kitten jerked.

And Viper drove his sword into her.

And she suddenly didn't have the lungs to put him to the test.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SCREEEEECH!!!!

The R-Cycle came to a smoking stop on the four-lane road stretching over the Shepherd Dam.

The engine cut.

Robin yanked his helmet off.

He tilted his head behind him.

SWOOOOSH!!!

Starfire lowered to the ground behind him.

Robin stood up. "See any of the others?"

She shook her head. "The last time I heard them over the transmissions, Beast Boy and Decker were headed quickly this way."

"Tempest too, I imagine….," Robin faced the lengths of the dam.

Starfire floated over. "Robin…are we to wait for our allies before proceeding? That has been your plan in encountering the enemy, no?"

Robin's eyemask thinned. "I think the enemy is already encountering us."

"Huh??"

His gloved finger pointed up.

A squadron of giant moths were diving down with glistening mandibles. Straight down at the two.

"Eek!" Starfire jumped.

Snnkkt!! Robin extended his metal staff. "We can't fall back. Even if the others are late. The dam is infested…and that infestation has just found us."

Starfire charged two pulsing wrists of green fury. "Just tell me what to do, Robin. I shall obey."

Robin eyed the insects diving down. His ears heard the dull roar of the cascading water far below in the ravine…against the south side of the dam. Somewhere in the inner reflection of his eyemask he sensed the fading memory of a silver sword kissing the air inside a prison and nearly killing everyone in sight.

"Just stay by my side, Star….," Robin said.

The Tamaranian looked at him.

He coiled up into a crouching position. "Just stay by my side…."

She took a deep breath, and her eyes glowed hot emerald. "I shall, Robin. And thank you…"

SKRIIIIII!!!!! The mutant moths dove.

"RrrrrrrrRRRRRAUGH!!!" Robin pounced into the flurry of wings and exoskeletons."

"NNGHH!!!" Starfire flung a volley of green death.

Robin acrobatically leapt onto and vaulted off the bodies of the first wave of moths. After he jumped off them, they were pelted into glue by Starfire's attack. Robin then soared upwards, spun, and slammed two moths with the side of his staff.

WHANG!!! CLANG!!!

They went falling—twitching—to earth.

The Boy Wonder stuck his arm out and grabbed another moth by two scrawny legs.

YANK!!!

The creature slunk down towards the ground in its flight.

Robin swung by the legs and slammed his feet into two other moths, sending them sailing out towards the northern body of water.

SPLOOSH!!! SP-SPLOOSH!!!

He dragged the insect he was hanging onto towards the ground and slammed it into the asphalt of the hallway. "YAUGH!!!" SPLORCH!!!

Seven more moths banked around and dove at him.

Robin twirled his staff at ready.

SWOOOSH!!! Starfire floated in front of him, gritted her teeth, and shot two optic streams of green out.

ZAAA-AAAA-AAAAAP!!!!!

The hot energy melted three moths instantly.

The last four split into two swarms and kept coming.

Robin tapped Starfire's shoulder.

The girl bent over, her arms wide apart.

Robin somersaulted off the Tamaranian's back and threw himself sideways into the left flank of insects. TH-THWACK!!! He twirled his staff into their thoraxes, shattering exoskeleton.

Starfire reached right and grabbed two moths by their heads. She gritted her teeth and slammed them hard into each other. SP-SPLORCH!!!

Moth juice and bloody silk layered the street.

The last of the insectoid corpses fell.

The two Titans panted.

SKRIIIIII!!!!

They spun.

At least two dozen more moths were swarming down towards them from the opposite side of the Shepherd Dam. Their wings buzzed and glistened in the red sunset.

"They are far too numerous!!" Starfire gasped.

Robin spun.

He saw a small security building behind them and to the left.

"Let's head for shelter!! It'll keep us safe…for the moment!"

"Agreed."

The moths buzzed closer.

"Go! Go! Go!" Robin ran, pointing.

Starfire cruised the air alongside him.

The moths swarmed at their heels.

Mandibles drooling….cutting the air.

Robin reached the door first.

He kicked it open on its hinges.

He dashed to the side, giving Starfire clearance.

She zoomed in through the doorframe.

Robin slipped in behind her.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

The Tamaranian shut the door closed. She and Robin pressed against it.

WHAM!!! WHAM!!! WHAM!!! The moths rammed it from the other side.

Robin gritted his teeth. "I'll hold the door!! Melt the lock!!"

Starfire nodded. She leaned back, charged a starbolt, and fired it at the knob.

The thing melted.

The door was practically welded shut.

Robin stepped back, breathing heavily.

WHAM!!! WHAM!!! WHAM!!!

The walls of the claustrophobic building shook from the swarming monstrosities outside.

"What are we to do now?" Starfire inquired.

Robin clenched his fists. "Right now….we catch our breaths."

There was a stirring to the side.

Robin and Starfire glanced over.

The girl Titan gasped.

Two security guards were bound by their hands and feet in silk. White threads covered their mouths, through which they uttered urgent cries.

The two Titans rushed over and knelt by their sides.

CHIING!! Robin produced a birdarang and began slicing the silk bonds loose of the foremost man.

Starfire melted the strands off the second guard.

Robin's hostage gasped and uttered: "Finally!! Somebody arrived!!"

"How long ago did Killer Moth get here??" Robin asked.

"Over six hours…," the man trembled. "It was around noon when they came."

"They??" Starfire asked.

The other man swallowed and said: "Killer Moth and some blonde girl. A teenager."

"Kitten….," Robin uttered.

Starfire winced instinctively.

"They're doing something with their moths….," the first guard said, warily eyeing the door as the bugs tried to pound their ways in from the outside. "I think they've turned the north side of the river into some sort of breeding ground or something!! You saw those things outside, right?? Well there's going to be a whole bunch of them in just a matter of time!! This dam can't hold so many creatures hatching at once!! And if the water was to flood down the riverbed…the City wouldn't stand a chance!!"

"I think there're worse things to worry about…," Robin said, standing up straight. "Hang on…" He whipped out his communicator with a Star Trek sound. "Cyborg. Cyborg come in, we're at the dam."

"Robin?"

"Was Noir successful at S.T.A.R. Labs?"

"He was sure as Hell successful at a lot of things……but if you're asking if Noir stopped Viper from stealing the equipment he came there for, no……Noir didn't."

Robin took a deep breath. "So the puzzle is complete. Killer Moth has all he needs to produce the deadly nerve agent?"

"Well……he has enough. But I don't think Killer Moth would do it. VIPER would."

"Understood."

"You wouldn't happen to have run into that assassin yet, would you?"

"No. Not yet," Robin shook his head.

Suddenly, one of the guards gasped. "Wait…..does he mean the swordsman??"

Robin raised an eyebrow. He looked at the man.

Starfire leaned forward: "What swordsman?"

"A t-tall man….balding….dressed in gray………with a huge silver blade over his shoulders. He passed by the window earlier. Don't you Titans have a swordsman in your group?"

"……….."

"……….."

"Robin? You there, dawg?"

Robin gritted his teeth. "Viper is here….."

"Shit! You gotta stop him, man!! He'll end the lives of everyone in this half of the state!!"

"What does he need to do to set off the chemical release of the nerve agent?"

"He could very well have done it already, man!! It's a gradual process. It involves the immersion and cohesion of the chemicals while the circuitry fuses with the isomeric translators to stimulate the birthing solution mixed with isopropyl alcoholo and—"

"How long, Cyborg???"

"Forty-Five minutes, considering the volume of water and size of the hive."

"I see…"

Starfire wrung her hands nervously.

"But that forty-five minute window of death could have started any time. Or could START at anytime."

"All the reason for us to move out now," Robin faced Starfire. "Even if we have to race death itself."

Starfire nodded.

The guards shifted nervously.

"Cyborg….what's the easiest way to cancel the chemical process IF it's already in effect?"

"Either the complete annihilation of the hive through incineration….."

"And Hotspot isn't here. Give me another option."

"……forcing the Hive to hatch. Either a deadly, chemical plague or a billion killer moths. Choose your apocalypse. A or B."

Robin marched over towards a window and gazed out. The north side of the ravine stretched before him. Including the length of the Shepherd Dam's north side.

"Somehow I like the alternative of little chance to that of zero chance."

"Love it or leave it, dawg. Raven, Noir and I are on our way."

"Don't bother speeding…," Robin said. "This is a matter of instant action. Right now…Starfire and I are here. We'll have to handle this."

"Well, we're coming anyways. Good luck, Robin."

"Same to you, Cyborg…," Robin pocketed the communicator. He then pulled at the window to open it.

"What…Wh-What are you planning??" A guard trembled.

"We're scaling the north side of the dam…," Robin said, struggling against the old window. "Tell me….is there a Redistribution and Pumping station in this structure?"

"Why…Y-Yes….," one guard uttered. "It's where the water flow through the dam's aqueducts and hydroelectric passageways is controlled…"

CRACK!!! Robin finally forced the rusted window open. He panted out into the autumn air and uttered: "Good. That's where we'll find Viper."

"How do you deduce that, Robin?" Starfire walked over.

Robin turned and gazed back. "It's where Viper needs to be if he plans on unleashing the toxic water out onto the population."

Starfire nodded. "I see…."

Robin motioned out the window. "Do you see the concrete opening ten feet below the edge of the Dam's northern face?

Starfire leaned her head out the window. Her green eyes thinned. "That I do…."

"We must head towards it."

"But….," she gazed at him and herself. "H-How, Robin?"

"How else?" he smiled. "You're going to hold me…."

A beat.

She smiled. "That would…work efficiently.

"What about us?!?!" one guard uttered as they both stood up. "We won't stand a chance against those bugs out th-there!!"

"Close the window once Starfire and I are gone," Robin pointed. "And don't worry. The two of us will distract them. You should be safe until further help arrives."

"And what if this nerve agent thingy you keep talking about gets loose?"

"………then hope you've found a good religion," Robin muttered. He stepped halfway out the window.

Starfire squeezed out two. "Robin?"

He held a gloved hand out. "Starfire?"

She took it. She breathed. "Hold on…."

SWOOOOSH!!!!

The two darted out.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Into the crimson sunset they flew.

Robin dangled off of Starfire's hand like a kite tail.

She strongly pulled the two of them over the rushing waters below and towards the top row of windows in the pale granite giant to their right.

A buzzing sound arose.

Hissings and screechings.

To their rear.

Robin twirled from Starfire's grasp and glanced back.

The flurry of moths dove down after them.

"Starfire!! To our six!!"

"Our wh-what??" she gasped.

"Our six!!"

"But I do not have a six!!"

"Nngh…," he pointed. "To your rear!!!"

"Huh??" She glanced over her flying shoulders. She saw the bugs on attack. "I see them!!!"

Snkkt!! Robin readied his staff, dangling.

Starfire aimed up towards the window in the dam. She skirted the two of them up the white structure's face. She charged a starbolt in her free hand. She glanced back. She thinned her eyes. She looked at the wall…at the insects…and back at the wall blurring by them.

"Nnngh!!!" she fired a starbolt against the dam.

FLASH!!!—CLANG!!!

It bounced off, flew in an angle, and sailed into the midst of the pursuing insects.

SPLORCH!!!!

Two fell from the blast.

The others soared past the falling carcasses.

Mandibles beared.

SKRIIIIIII!!!!

Starfire fired another blast. "RAUGH!!!"

FLASH—CLANG!!!

It again bounced off and soared into the thick crowd.

SP-SPLORCH!!!!

The insects parted ways and came from random angles.

"I cannot hit them anymore!!" Starfire shouted.

"It's okay, Star!! Just keep going!!!"

Starfire's eyes burned as she quickened the mid-air pace towards the window.

The insects started catching up. Their teeth chewed closer and closer to the Tamaranian's heels. SKRIIIIII!!!

Robin shouted and swung his staff with one hand.

THWACK!!!

He batted one moth away.

A second skirted down towards him. SKRIIII!!!

"YAUGH!!!"

SWIIIISH-THWACK!!!

He knocked the second back.

Two moths arced around the two teenagers, twirled, shrieked, and slammed swiftly into Starfire's side.

WHAM!!!

"Nngh!!" the Tamaranian went flying.

And—as a result—she dropped Robin.

"!!!!" Robin let go of his staff and plummeted down the dam's side.

Starfire righted herself and gasped: "Robin!!!"

The Boy Wonder gritted his teeth and fired a grappling hook up towards the top side of the dam.

POW!!!!

The hook sailed up and through one of two dive-bombing moths.

SPLORCH!!

It then embedded into the dam high above—CL-CLANK!!!

SWOOOOSH!!!

Robin retracted the cord and sailed up. He swung his leg out and struck a moth with his boot upon passing.

THWACK!!!

The moth tumbled dead down the dam's north side and splashed into the waters below.

Robin's feet met the dam, and he 'ran' up it while holding himself tethered by the grappling cord with one hand.

"I'm okay, Star!! Head towards the window!!"

Starfire took a breath. She zapped one random, attacking moth and made for the window like a bullet.

Both Titans ran and flew their way to the window.

The moths closed in.

Three came suddenly from above the dam's other side.

Robin gasped. "Starfire!!"

Blind to the new attackers, the flying Tamaranian perched on the window.

Crkk!! Robin readied a birdarang in his free hand while 'running' up the wall. "GET DOWN!!!"

SWOOOSH-TH-TH-TH-TH-THWISH!!! The birdarang sang its way towards her skull.

"EEP!!" she ducked.

SP-SPLORCH!!! The birdarang sliced through all three moths in succession, knocking them to the waters below.

Robin ran up the last length of wall that he could and leapt up towards the Tamaranian.

The bugs closed in on his legs.

"!!!" Starfire reached down. GRIP!! She took Robin by the gloved hand and yanked them both into the window of the structure's inner sanctum.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Plop!!

The two Titans grunted, landing on the floor.

Robin dragged himself up and pulled Starfire to her feet.

They made a mad dash for a pair of double doors leading inside.

The bugs swarmed in through the granite window and chased the two into the shadows.

SKRIIIII!!!

Robin reached the door.

He picked the lock.

Starfire spun around and flung starbolt after starbolt.

FL-FL-FLASH!!!

A quarter of the insects dropped to the floor.

The rest came in a drooling, menacing phalanx.

Hot breaths.

Hot stench.

Robin fumbled with the lock.

Starfire sweat.

She flung another starbolt.

It exploded within leg's length.

The bugs pounced--

"Got it!!" Robin shouted and flung himself against the doorframe.

He and Starfire swung in.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

They slammed the doors shut behind them.

CLANG!!!!

The moths pounded in futility on the other side.

Robin and Starfire leaned against the door for a while…then let loose sighs of relief.

"We are rid of the foul beasts…," Starfire murmured. "We can further along with our task."

Robin nodded. "Yeah. Let's not waste any time."

The two turned around.

They froze.

They were at the far end of the maintenance corridor. And the maintenance corridor was stained in splotches of red blood every other step. The splotches were wettest and the crimson was reddest twelve feet away…..where two hands marinated in human juices.

A sharp-gloved hand…and a dainty feminine hand…

Both right.

"…………."

"………….."

Robin readied two birdarangs. He took a breath. "Okay, Starfire…."

She braced herself behind him.

"Let's descend…."

And the two Titans crept forward…following the stained path of red towards the stairs.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

VRMMMMMMM!!!

Decker sped his car along the country road.

Winding up and up and up the mountainside.

He gritted his teeth and squeezed the wheel with white knuckles. "I swear….I've never broken so many of my own laws in a single day…"

SCREEEEEECH!!!!

He swerved across two lanes of empty traffic and took a back road up towards the Shepherd Dam. The deep river ravine could already be seen beyond the forested hillside on either side of the path.

"Figures….I'll probably be writing my own damn tickets after all this….."

VRRMMMMMM!!!

He ramped over a hill and came onto a straightaway, zooming towards the white structure of the dam in the distance.

A green pterodactyl swung low through his windshield up ahead.

He took a deep breath.

"God, I hope I never get frickin' old…"

And he shifted into a higher gear.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Robin and Starfire walked out of a concrete stairwell and into the deep bowels of the Shepherd Dam. Pipes coiled in and out of the walls like iron and copper intestines. Ribbons of metal bulkheads and dials and gaskets lined the corridor. Red lights and strobing signals illuminated scores of dials and meters and pressure sensors. Steam hissed out of cracks and joints of the pipework. The dull roar of rushing water rolled through the concrete belly of the huge structure.

At the far end of the mangled corridor was a brightly lit gateway into the pump rooms. The dark floor was intermittently stained with red streaks of dragging red. A path pointing them along the way.

Starfire gulped.

Robin took a deep breath. He lead the way with birdarangs raised.

Starfire floated closely behind, her hands glowing a bright green.

"Robin….," she murmured…facing the bright chamber at the far end of the corridor.

"Yeah, Star?" he quietly replied.

"….did it feel like this?"

"………???"

"When you, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Speedy faced Viper alone in the prison?"

"…….a little bit, yeah Star."

"I wish I was with you then."

"For what? To be prepared?"

"How do you mean?"

Robin slowly spoke as they both crept forward. "I….I honestly never wanted you to have to see this, Star."

"……"

"This man. What he does. What he is. Slade, we faced together. We all faced together. But this man is not like Slade. He doesn't choose intimate victims to torment. He doesn't terrorize. He only kills. Indiscriminately. Violently."

"…………"

"I'm happy to hear you wished you were with us when we first fought him…," he spoke to the girl. "But I honestly never wanted it to come to this. I never wanted you to see such evil."

"I have seen such immeasurable evil in my life, Robin."

He took a deep breath.

She uttered quietly: "The Tamaranian wars. The Gordanians. The Psions. Then Slade and those of his ilk on Earth…."

"………."

"I only wished I was around the first time you had to face Viper…," she spoke. "Not so much that I may be prepared for what we shall face now. But because….because I never want you to feel afraid or helpless, Robin."

"………."

"Did you ever feel afraid or helpless?" She asked him. A beat. She rephrased: "Do you feel helpless, Robin?"

"I'm okay, Star."

"You are?"

"Because you are here…," he exhaled. "You weren't then. But you are now."

A beat.

"Then I have nothing to fear either…," Starfire said with a weak smile. "I do not enjoy facing Viper…but as long as you are by my side, I shall not let fear overwhelm me."

Robin nodded. "Yeah….simple as that."

"I want to face everything with you, Robin. The good dreams….and the bad."

Robin gazed to the floor a bit. Through the shadows and the blood streaks. He inhaled. "Maybe I've not truly woken up from everything with 'J'….but I know one thing for sure."

"What's that, Robin?"

"I think I'll know who I truly am….as long as you're here…," Robin muttered. He gazed up with a strong breath. "That's why I've kept you close by ever since then."

"Even during this mission?"

He nodded. "Even during this mission."

"And what of Tempest?"

"He needed to get out of the water….he's becoming a damn prune…"

A beat.

"This is not an appropriate time to giggle…," Starfire said with a suppressed breath.

"Save it for later…," Robin readied his birdarangs. "…for after we kick Viper's ass."

"Yes…we shall teach many things to his proverbial donkey!"

Robin smirked.

Starfire clenched her jaw.

The two marched side-by-side into the lit corridor.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

And they froze.

They gazed up.

Their mouths drew agape.

Drip…

Drip……

Drip………

Two bodies.

Two carcasses.

They were wrapped from the ceiling of the pump room in barbed wire.

Hanging from the ceiling.

Killer Moth.

Kitten.

They leaked crimson blood from three dozen places.

Their bodies dangled in the barbed wire cocoons.

High above the red pools in the well-lit, concrete floor below.

Drip…

Drip……

Drip………

The two Titans gazed soullessly at the grotesque, silent sight.

And something echoed through the chamber.

An electronic throat.

Vibrating the hairs on their necks erect.

"Heh heh heh heh……"

Robin gazed around.

Starfire's optics remained affixed to the two carcasses.

"'Come into my parlor', said the spider to the fly……."

The pump room was a wide corridor skewered by thick concrete pipes scaling upwards in three tiers of horizontal stretches. The far wall was dotted with black tunnels; aqueducts that led into the darker corners of the dam. Cold water filtered through the pipes, filling the air with an autumn-induced frigidity within the belly of the Shepherd Dam. Robin's and Starfire's breaths filtered into the air.

They twirled around, searching for the source of the voice.

"Shhhhh……..sit down and join ussssss……."

Robin and Starfire stood back to back.

Panting.

Shivering.

Breath vapors….

The barbed wire creaked, wet and bloody.

The bodies hung and dangled against each other.

Father and daughter.

"We are one happy….happy….family…."

SWOOOSH!!!

A shadow darting above.

Starfire gasped.

Robin gritted his teeth.

The two Titans twirled about.

"Show yourself!!" Robin shouted.

"Heh heh heh…..I already have….."

SWOOOOSH!!!

Another shadow.

The two Titans spun.

Robin held his birdarangs up.

Starfire prepared a huge starbolt, panting.

"Do you not see me?? I am dripping to the floor…."

SWOOOSH-CLAMP!!!

The two Titans jumped.

They glanced up.

Atop a huge concrete pipe, Viper perched. His head bent low. Directly over them. His broadsword stretched lengthily over his back.

Starfire and Robin stepped back.

"……….," Viper slowly lifted his head. He gazed down at them. He smiled. "I drip from the guts of the security guard I tossed aside at the Dayton Chemical Works. I empty myself from the hearts and skewered skulls of the scientists at Wayne Enterprises. And I laugh my way out of the Headmistress' stub of an arm…."

"And Garet's neck hole…," Robin nodded. "We get your point, creep. You think you're death…don't you?"

"Think?? Think??" Viper's teeth showed. He stood up straight on the pipe and raised his hands. "What is to think when I have robbed everyone of their spinal cords? What is there to grasp when the hand is missing or the heart is no longer beating??"

Starfire's eyes narrowed. Her lips pursed, cold vapor coming out.

Viper gestured towards the concrete ceiling. "When my father was killed…when my mother was molested to death……I thought I was merely a wielder of justice. TRUE justice. I labeled my enemies. I went after them. And when I had sufficiently trained myself in every degree imaginable…when I finally put up the effort to track my nemeses down……..I finally confronted face to face…and do you know what I saw??"

"…….."

Viper's metal right hand clenched tight. "Weaknessssss. Mortality. A finite soul." Viper's bulbous eyes closed meditatively. His lips pursed. The disc strobed: "Everyone I hated……everyone I swung my sword through…….they were nothing but meaty streams working cohesively towards the effect of chaos. Everyone was a meat bag. A hulk of flesh just waiting to be cleaved in two." His eyes reopened with a trace of sadness. "My parent's vendetta…..it was so trivial, Boy Wonder. My enemies were nothing. I could finish them in a heartbeat."

"Funny that….," Robin sneered up at them. "How come then when you first came to our City….the Titans kicked your ass before you could so much as rob a tenth of the law enforcement of its lives?"

Viper's sad eyes melted into glares. He grinned again: "I didn't realize then where gravity was taking me."

"Gravity?"

"The Balance of Morals, boy. You've heard of it before??"

Starfire gulped.

Robin's eyemask thinned. "I think so…."

"What can you tell me about it?"

"I can tell you that Slade died because he was a moron."

"Heh heh heh….Slade never loved to do dirty work. He never loved to sink his teeth into the meat like I do. He never loved to bathe in the blood. The sweet crimson of silence…."

CHIIIIIII-IIIIIII-IIIIIING!!!!

Robin crouched into a ready position.

Starfire jerked.

Viper had slowly unsheathed his blade. He held it out and gently caressed the silver sharpness of it with a flesh finger.

"…when it was too late for him to grasp the impregnable stroke of death, he fell victim to it. And once he was gone from the chessboard…and Dagger too….that led the way for the true gladiators like myself to enter the battle arena." He held his finger up. A fine cut had been sliced into the flesh. A droplet of blood leeched out. He held it to his tongue…he tasted himself. He slowly closed his eyes. "Hmmm…….it is a warm thing when you discover yourself. When you realize….through all the pain….all the foolish senses of life…..that you are made only for death." His eyes opened with a hideous flare. "I had been hacked apart, Titans. Your little dog of a swordsman ripped my arm off. Your archer skewered me. And you…Robin…..you bruised me. And I don't like being bruised. But in a way….I should thank you."

"Thank me??" Robin frowned. "For what, creep?"

"For showing me how silly pain is. I went to Dagger after our battle. He threw me out on the street. I had to cleave this prosthetic metal limb to myself. Without anesthesia. Alone in the element. The pain was excruciating. And the shivers…..oh gods, the shivers……..so bone chilling. I realized then and there that everything I was ever doing was wrong. I was killing, yes. But I was killing merely to support my own life. But everything that is born lives to die. And I started dying months ago, Robin. I started dying one at a time. Through every person I met. Through criminals and commissioners alike. Through the Headmistress. Through Garet. And now…through Fang….Killer Moth….his pathetic seed……and now….I shall die the greatest death of all. This whole City will let loose one last sigh of futility and fall down before me. The wielder of Red. The Lord of Destruction."

"I don't know what you're trying to become….," Robin growled. "But you're just as psychotic as the rest of them. I've seen it all. I've heard it all. And every single punk I've face eventually bite it in the end. So you will."

"And so will you, Robin…," Viper smiled down at them. "Don't you realize that….at the end of the stroke of death…the Titans will be the ones to answer to the reaper? Even if it's it not me….Someone will do it. Someone will end you. Do you not feel it in the cold wind?? It's like whispers. Whispers of a dying sky, bathed red. A prophecy. A warning. But just whispers in the cave of silence. Outside of the foolish masses' ears."

Starfire shuddered.

Robin stared.

"I set the isomeric translators to go forth with their task just a moments before you arrived…," Viper gestured. "In a matter of minutes….the water coursing through this facility will carry Destruction down the river and into your pathetic City. Many a child will see life's ugly face a dozen years early. I almost wish I would be there to taste the irony. Rusted….like copper…..heheheheh…."

Snkkt!!

Robin raised his birdarang high.

"Shut off the process, Viper….."

"Heh heh heh heh heh….."

"NOW!!!!"

"Silly bird…..," Viper knelt down and smiled down from the pipe. "Do you know why you and your beloved concubine are here?"

"Don't call her that…," Robin hissed.

"My one last Opponent in this world wants you the most…," Viper's electronic voice hissed. "And the only way I can beat him to the game of Death….is to end the Titans. And I've got two of them summoned here on the threshold of destruction."

"…….."

"So then….," Viper stood up straight. Th-Thwish!!! Glistening teeth. Bulbous eyes wide. "Off with your hands…." SWOOOOOSH!!! He leapt down.

"Star!! Look out--!!!"

"Nnnghh!!" Starfire flung starbolts.

Viper's feet contacted another pipe and vaulted his body off to the left just time to avoid the blasts. FL-FLASH!!!

Starfire gasped.

Viper flew down, bounced off another wall, and sailed towards the two.

Robin flung a birdaraing.

SLASH!!! CL-CLANG!!! The broadsword severed the projectile in mid-air. The villain sailed down at Starfire's arm, sword first. "YAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Robin gritted his teeth and shoved the Tamaranian out of the way.

SWIIIIISH!!!

A silver blade sang between the two.

Starfire fell to the floor with a grunt.

The Boy Wonder teetered.

PLOP!!

Viper landed. He twirled the broadsword. He pivoted his body and swung his leg up--

THWAP!!!

He kicked Robin across the pump room.

WHUMP!! "Oof!!" Robin slid backwards through the pool of blood beneath Killer Moth and Kitten. Blood streaked behind his cape and body.

Viper smirked. He marched towards the Boy Wonder---

"NNGHH!!" Starfire pounced on Viper's back and swung her arms around his neck in a sleeper hold.

Before she could apply her alien strength, Viper gritted his teeth and yanked his skull back.

THWAP!!!

He reverse-headbutted the girl in the forehead.

"Owie!!" Starfire fell back.

Viper spun.

His sword twirled.

He let loose a breath and swung at her skull--

SWIIISH!! Robin dove in, stabbing a birdarang into Viper's metal wrist.

CLANK!!!

"Augh!!"

Sparks flew.

Viper's sword hand was deflected up.

THWACK!!! The silver broadsword embedded into a concrete wall just an inch above Starfire's nodding head.

The girl was wide eyed.

Robin whipped out a grappling hook cord and wrapped it around Viper's body. He pulled it tight in a knot behind the man's back and fired the hook up at the ceiling. POW!!! SWIIIIISH-CLANK!! He pressed the button to retract.

SWOOOOOSH!!!

Viper's body was strung up in the cord. His body lifted towards the top of the pump room like the bad end of a pulley system. He grunted electronically and struggled with his blade to get loose from the trap.

Robin panted. Sweating, he looked over at a wall of levers. "Starfire!!" he pointed across the pump room. "The controls!! If we vent the water ahead of time, it might displace the hive to where it can't be discharged onto the City!! Pull the levers!!"

"I concur!!" the Tamaranian nodded and rushed towards the devices.

"Nnnnghh!!" Viper snarled and swung the blade up high with struggling wrists. SNAP!!! He cut the cord loose. He dropped. He stabbed his blade out towards a concrete wall. SCRAAAA-AAAA-AAAAAPE!!! The blade cut into the structure, slowing his descent. He spotted the Tamaranian girl, he yanked his blade out and kicked against the blurring wall with his feet. He vaulted over and tackled the girl in mid-air.

THWUMP!!!

"EEK!!"

The two plummeted to the hard floor.

THWAP!!!

They landed hard and rolled away from each other.

Starfire hovered up to her feet.

Viper jumped up, twirled his blade, and stabbed at her.

SLASH!!!

She darted to the side.

He swung again.

She rolled to the other side.

Viper dove in with a snarl and gripped her by the throat.

"!!!!!" Starfire dangled from his grasp, struggling.

He smirked and twirled the broadsword in the other hand.

Robin was two feet away from the levers. He glanced over his shoulder. His eyemask widened. He skidded to a stop, panting. He looked at Starfire. He looked at the controls. He looked at Starfire. He looked at the controls again.

In the meantime, Starfire groaned and wheezed…trying to pry herself loose.

Viper breathed out. His neck disc fluctuated red. "Let's see what you taste like on the inside…."

She winced.

His blade flew at her--

THWOOOSH!! Robin swung in by grappling hook and scooped Viper up around the waist.

"OOF!!" the assassin grunted.

Robin swung the assassin down and up towards a pipe on the top tier of the pump room. WHAM!!! He slammed Viper up against the concrete structure. Robin held his place with two legs spread. With a free hand, he pulled out an explosive birdarang. He slammed it into the concrete, pinning Viper to the pipe by his jumpshirt. CLANK!!! The light flashed on the explosive, charged….

Viper gasped.

"Give my regards to Death, asshole…," Robin backflipped off the pipe….leaving Viper with the explosive.

Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep-Wriiiiiiiiii!!!

Viper gritted his teeth.

BOOOM!!!!!!!

Plasma and dust flowered out from his location.

TH-THWISH!!! Robin flipped and landed in a crouch besides a panting Starfire.

The girl helped the Boy Wonder up to his feet.

The two stared—exhausted—at the cloud of destruction high above.

"……."

"……."

The cloud of smoke and fire dissipated.

What was left was a huge, gaping hole in the top tier pipe. No flow. No water.

And no remains of Viper.

Robin's eyemask thinned.

"He is….d-destroyed?" Starfire stammered.

"If only you knew….."

The two Titans jerked aside.

A shirtless Viper streaked at them like a pale ghost with an even paler sword twirling. TH-TH-TH-THWISH!!! And slashing—SWOOOSH!!!

Starfire stood in front of Robin and shoved a starbolt straight into the ground.

The concrete exploded between Viper and the Titans.

Viper stumbled back.

Starfire and Robin flew away from the concussion—dazed, but safe.

For the moment.

"RRGHH!!" Viper charged through the dust.

Robin met him. Snkkt-Snkkt!! He whipped out two birdarangs.

SLASSSH-CLANG!!! Robin knelt back, his two birdarangs awkwardly holding back the length of Viper's broadsword along the curvature.

Viper grinned and applied his force down against the Boy Wonder.

Robin sweated, his wrists shaking as he held Viper's broadsword up with the meager birdarangs. His legs shook, went tight, and uncoiled upward. "Nnnngh!!!" Robin shoved Viper back.

The assassin took a reverse step and prepared to strike hard at the Titan leader's side--

FLASH!!!

A starbolt exploded beside him.

Viper jerked back and glanced aside.

Starfire stood, snarling, with glowing hands. "Let him go!!!"

Viper smirked. "All too happy to…"

"Star!! Hit him!!" Robin dove in.

But Viper gripped his shoulder, spun, and threw the nimble Robin hard against the side of a bulkhead.

WHAP!!!

"Ugh…."

Starfire gasped, frowned, and launched a heated flurry of green energy.

FLASH!!! FL-FL-FLASH!!!

Viper twirled his blade, deflecting the shots.

Starfire circle strafed him from afar, launching starbolts from multiple angles.

Viper continued deflecting. At the end of one block, he spun towards a nearby wall, ran up it seven feet with nimble legs, and vaulted off into a sideways flip. He soared over towards Starfire.

The Tamaranian hovered backwards, gasping, launching starbolt after starbolt towards his plummeting figure.

FL-FL-FL-FLASH!!!

He deflected on the descent. CL-CL-CL-CLANG!!! He broke through the last of her barrage with a heavy downswing.

Starfire gasped and fell down on her back.

The length of Viper's broadsword came down on her.

She laid herself down and slapped her two hands up.

CLAP!!!!!

Her Tamaranian palms met the flat sides of Viper's sword and stopped the huge length of it just an inch above her middle, chest, and chin.

Viper took a single breath.

So did she….and twisted her arms—"Nnngh!!!"

Viper was yanked harshly at the end of his hilt by her strength. His body spun like a horizontal top in the air--

WHAM!!!

--just for Robin to dive in with a flying kick.

Viper and his blade tumbled across the concrete floor like a ragdoll. All too expertly, he jumped up to his feet and—although dazed—met Robin's advance with a twirl of his blade. TH-TH-THWISH!!!

Robin dodged the serrated swirl and jumped to his right. He kicked a thin vertical pipe with his metal boot. CLACK!!! He twirled the new bludgeon in his grasp, took a breath, and charged: "YAAAAAUGH!!!"

SW-SW-SWISH!!! CLANG!! CLANG!! CLANG!!

Robin advanced madly on Viper, swinging his new metal staff with fury.

Viper deflected and deflected and deflected, backstepping across the length of the pump room.

Their fight brought them beneath the dripping bodies of the father and daughter.

Their feet nearly slipped in the blood once or twice.

Robin was sweating.

But Viper was smirking.

Something exchanged between the two in a glistening heart beat, and…

"RAUGH!!!" Viper stabbed forward.

Robin pivoted to the side.

CLANK!!!

He was pinned to a concrete pipe by his cape. He struggled to get loose.

"Hold your breath…," Viper hissed, pivoted his body, and slammed his foot into the Boy Wonder's gut.

"OOOF!!" Robin uttered before losing oxygen altogether. He wheezed and bent forward.

Viper sneered.

"ROBIN!!!" Starfire flew in like a green streak.

But Viper was ready.

He yanked his blade out, twirled it, and met the flying Tamaranian with the flat side of the broadsword.

THWACK!!!

"Uggh!!" Starfire plummeted into the ground.

She skidded to a stop against Viper's foot, which lifted her chin up just in time for his other foot to soccer-kick her straight in the face.

WHAM!!!

"!!!" she rolled numbly into Robin.

The two Titans' bodies were pressed into each other.

They shivered and sputtered.

Cold vapors rising between them.

CHIIIIIIIIIING!!!

Viper walked forward, dragging his blade.

Eyeing the two beaten Titans' heads next to each other.

"Time to sign on the dotted line…."

CHIII-IIIING!!

He lifted his sword.

He hoisted it over his shoulder.

He paused in a ready pose to hack them out of existence.

"Know this moment, children. Know this moment when all you have to hold onto is the measly cold and a horizon of infinite silence awaits you at an arm's reach…."

Robin's eyemask was thin. He trembled to look into Starfire's eyes.

The Tamaranian girl shuddered, struggling to see him too with emerald optics.

Viper breathed in. His metal fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade.

"And maybe…..maybe the sky bleeds red outside a little bit early…."

The two shuddered.

The two winced.

Viper prepared to swing. "Someday…I want you to tell me how it tastes."

And then a shadow just to the right. "Ya know….for a mute, you really talk your ass off."

Viper looked up. "Huh??"

WHAM!!!! Decker's fist flew across the assassin's face.

Viper stumbled back six feet.

The Titans' gasped.

The Commissioner marched over the two youngsters and towards the man. His hands were behind his back. He frowned: "Hey, shitstain….remember me??"

Viper wheezed. "The silly police man I tried to stab to death….," he smirked. "How can I forget??"

"For your information…I still have both my hands….," Decker grumbled. "And they're both REALLY pissed at you right now!!" That said, Decker whipped out dual pistols in two hands, aimed them at the shirtless assassin, and let loose--

BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!

Viper held his breath and twirled his sword like mad…dodging and deflecting. CL-CL-CL-CLANG!!!

Decker marched forward, squinting as he unleashed more lead storm.

BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!

Viper's feet literally skid backwards across the concrete from the force of his deflections.

Bullet fragments and shell casings littered the cold floor.

Viper began to sweat.

Decker began to pant.

And…

BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!BANG!CLICK-CLICK-Click-Click…..

Empty air.

Decker exhaled.

"…….," Viper lowered his sword.

A beat.

"Shit….," Decker dropped one pistol and flung his free hand into his belt for more ammo.

Viper smiled.

TH-THWISH!! He twirled his blade.

Decker fumbled for a new clip.

Viper charged at the man.

Decker emptied his pistol.

Viper raised his sword.

Decker slipped in the clip.

Viper snarled. The blade kissed the air.

Decker cocked his gun.

Viper was on him.

Decker pivoted his body, lowered his arm, and aimed….straight into Viper's forehead.

A blink.

BANG!!!!

Time slowed.

Viper slid his entire body down, his head ducking beneath the bullet.

Decker remained frozen in place, his eye twitching at the vapor trail left by the single bullet.

Viper slid under the commissioner.

His muscles flexed.

He sprung himself expertly to his feet.

A sword-arm that knew no inaccuracy pulled and tugged at the hilt.

He swept low as he stood up behind Decker.

His blade sang through the air in hair-splitting serration.

Flying towards Decker's waist.

A force that would split the man's meat body in two…

Decker blinked….long and hard.

The mist that was flying out of his mouth was suddenly sucked back in.

And….

Time resumed.

SWIIIISH!!!

THWOOOSH-CLANK!!! Decker brought the pistol down and blocked Viper's sword in reverse, saving his hide.

Viper gasped, frozen.

"NNGH!!" Decker spun with a kick flying high.

It met Viper's skull.

THWACK!!!

The assassin stumbled backwards.

Decker twisted his body and—quite artistically for his own good—swan kicked his other foot up and uppercutted Viper's chin with his boot.

WHAM!!!

The assassin dropped his sword and fell back, sliding across the blood-stained floor.

Decker landed from his blow, panting, pale as a ghost. "…..," he exhaled. He shook. "AAAAAAUGH!!!! AAAUGH!! Wax on, wax off… shithead!!" Cl-Click!!! He aimed the pistol at Viper's prone body from afar. "Now…FREEZE!!"

"……..," Viper slowly sat up. Frowning.

"You heard me right…freeze, punk!!!"

Viper slowly stood up. "What do you think you're doing….?"

"Now you listen and you listen carefully….," Decker uttered. Frowning. Aiming the gun. "You….Vincent Patrick Matthew Thames the Third…."

"……..," Viper blinked.

"…..you are under arrest."

Viper smiled. "Heh heh heh heh….."

"Anything you san can and will be used against you."

"Hah hah hah hah hah hah…."

"You have the right to an attorney…"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

"If you cannot an afford an attorney, one will be granted for you by the court of law."

Viper's head tilted towards the ceiling as his face convulsed and his disc ring strobed red. "Ha ha ha ha ha haaaaa ha ha!!!"

"Do you understand these rights??" Decker uttered.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!!!"

"I said….," Decker sneered. "Do you understand these—"

"You fool. You cannot arrest me. You cannot even come near me. You can aim that pistol at me all you want. But do you really think it will stop me??" Viper grinned.

The two Titans slowly struggled up to their knees, watching.

"Just fire a bullet. Go on! Fire two!! I'll be over there in a heartbeat. Strangling your neck. Ripping your hand off with my teeth if I have to. I may want to be death incarnate…but I still have no respect for the likes of you. Law enforcers….you make me sick. I've bathed in the blood of your comrades in arms and I'll be sure to bathe in YOUR BLOOD TOO!!!"

Decker frowned. His fingers tightened around the trigger. "I know what you've done. Every night I go to bed, I think about the innocent lives you've ended. The ways I could have prevented it….but couldn't. And you know what? You're right. You're right, Viper. I am pathetic. I'm no super hero. You've proven before that I can't do anything to arrest you. So….I guess that just leaves me with one last option…"

Viper snickered. "And what's that??"

"Taking you to the woodshed." And that said, Decker pivoted his aim, squinted an eye, and fired behind Viper.

BANG!!!

"!!!" Viper spun as the bullet blurred by him.

The Titans' head turned.

SWIIIIISH-CLANK!!! The bullet struck a lever on the controls. The gears turned. The whole dam shook. Water was being displaced early through one of the pipes.

One of the pipes……

Viper gasped. He glanced up at the one pipe where Robin had pinned him to with an explosive.

A gaping hole was in the side. The sound of rolling thunder echoed out of it. And the cold mist of rushing water started to emanate from the concrete gash.

Decker lowered the pistol and shouted: "Hope they taught you how to swim in your father's bordello, you pale-ass bastard!!"

SPLOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!

Riverwater spewed out from the shattered pipe like the white vomit of God.

"Nnnnghh!!!" Viper growled, turned, and tried to flee--

WHAM!!!!!! SPLOOOOSH!!!

The water plowed fiercely into him. The villain was plowed in a straight line perfectly from his one spot and straight out towards one of the dark aqueducts on the opposite side of the pump room, where he disappeared with an electronic yelp.

SPLOOOOOSH!!!!

Water was fountaining everywhere.

Starfire flew up with a burst of strength.

POW!!! Robin fired a grappling hook and lifted himself up just before the cascading torrents could possibly wash over him.

Decker found himself backing out of the room. He dropped his pistol and ran at at a full sprint as the white waters charged after his heels.

SWOOOOSH!!! Starfire swooped down, snatched the man by his shoulders, and flew him towards the ceiling.

Robin hung over the flooded mess by one hand, panting. He heard a shout and looked across the gradually submerged dam room.

"Woohoo!!" a green pterodactyl glided into the corridor. "Special delivery!!"

Robin pointed at two bodies hanging by barbed wire. "Not me!! Them!! Grab them!!"

"Yikes! Never a pretty job for me. No!!" the green pterodactyl shrieked, swooped in, snapped the two bodies free of the barbed wire, 'unwrapped' them, and grabbed each swiftly in a talon. Beast Boy then carried Killer Moth and Kitten out of the flooded interior and back towards the surface of the dam through the adjacent corridor and stairwell.

Robin was beginning to lose his grip.

Suddenly, Starfire soared in and—with a free hand—snatched the Boy Wonder up.

"Heeeeeeeeeee," she rubbed her warm cheek lovingly against his chin, smiling. "We are to stick together, yes?"

Robin sighed with a weak smile. "Yes….Star…."

"Please…," Decker grumbled. "I'm going to vomit…."

"Hold onto your equine!!" Starfire hoisted the two out from the raging rapids and towards the exit beyond.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-T-

Viper's pale body tumbled and rolled through the dark aqueduct.

Fountains of bubbling water kissed a growing number of dark bruises and red cuts across his naked torso.

He gasped, panted, sputtered, and found himself blinded by a flash of red light.

The open world.

The naked autumn air.

"!!!!" Viper gasped. "N-No…."

The aqueduct was opening up towards the south face of the dam.

The water shoved him towards the opening with a ferocity that knew no deceleration.

"No….."

SWOOOOSH!!!!!

In a splash of white fury, Viper was ejected out into the air…..and fell over two hundred feet towards the crashing waters of the ravine below.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo….."

It sounded more like a 'thud' than a 'splash' when his body slammed into the ruptured waves below.

And then….

Silence.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SWOOOOSH!!!!

Starfire floated down to the top of the dam. She gently placed Robin and the Commissioner on their feet.

"Good work, Star…," Robin said.

"Yeah…," Decker sweatdropped. "Just don't tell anyone…"

Starfire blushed. "I'm….sorry?"

"Dudes!!"

The three looked over.

The green pterodactyl set down the bloody father and daughter down and morphed into a panting elf. "What happened to them?!?!"

"We must seek aid!" Starfire remarked. She started to walk off. "I shall endeavor to fly to the nearest hospital and—"

"Wait!" Robin held a hand in front of her. He turned and faced Decker. "Viper said he set the chemicals off already!! We're still minutes away from doomsday."

"You noticed that too, huh?" grumbled the Commissioner.

Robin ran towards the dam's northern edge.

Starfire and Beast Boy ran after him.

Robin looked over the edge. He gazed at the bubbling water. White forms bobbed in the depths far below.

"There must be tens of thousands of them…," Beast Boy uttered.

"X'Hal….," Starfire murmured.

Robin whipped out a handful of explosive birdarangs. He glanced at them…then at the other two Titans. "I don't even have near enough to take them out. Star?"

"I-I can attempt to eradicate them…," she uttered. "But it would take far too much time to incinerate the entirety."

"Then how do we kill them off??" Decker shrugged.

"We don't…," A voice warbled from below.

"Huh??"

SPLOOSH!!!!

Tempest leapt up, dripping. He perched on the edge of the dam and panted with his lungs. He pulled a few wet strands out of his face and gestured towards the north side of the river below him. "What's the other alternative to stopping the chemical agent besides killing the larvae??"

"……," Robin blinked under his mask. "We…uhm….hatch them…"

"I think I can do it, Robin…," Tempest grinned. "I can let everyone possible live through this!!"

"How could you possibly—" Decker began.

Robin elbowed the Commissioner. He gestured to Tempest: "Wouldn't it be too much for you?"

Tempest shook his head. "They're like shrimp. Brine."

Robin's eyemask thinned. "And once they're hatched…"

"Trust me, Robin…," Tempest pleaded. "You've done so twice already and all I've done is help."

"……."

Beast Boy leaned in. "He's right, dude. Besides….," the changeling smiled. "His proposal's the most peaceful thing I've heard of in days…"

Robin inhaled. "Okay, Tempest. We're all in your hands."

Tempest smiled. He saluted. He let go of the dam, fell back, and splashed in a reverse dive into the north river.

SPLOOSH!!!!

Decker folded his arms.

Beast Boy gazed over the edge, breathing steadily.

Starfire crept over and hooked an arm with Robin's.

The Boy Wonder rested a gloved hand on hers.

Everyone gazed into the waters.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"……….."

Tempest drifted down into the waters.

His dark eyes open.

White spots on black spheres.

His gills stretched wide.

A purple light fluctuated across his limbs and was out.

Bubbles flew out of his nose.

He closed his eyes again.

Folded his arms.

Relaxed…..

"Where are you going?"

"Away……Tula……"

"What for??"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

He folded his arms in his lap.

He looked from the royal balcony across the spires and leaping fountains of Atlantis. The dome shimmered with ocean water overhead.

"I……I'm dangerous here……"

Tula leaned towards him, dressed in silky opal. "It's the curse, isn't it? You're afraid……"

"I'm not afraid!!" he sneered. A bit. He sighed and hung his head. "I'm just worried……"

"About the Hidden Valley?"

"Everyone. Poseidon knows……the whole ocean even."

She took a deep breath. She leaned her head against his shoulder.

"………," Tempest shivered from the touch. But not from cold. He swallowed and tried not to show it, gazing off.

She purred against his ear. Warm. Like the upper currents of the Atlantic. "I don't think you should ever worry, Garth. You are a gift."

"Gift??"

"A walking, handsome gift. You are not something of destruction. You are something of life……," she gently stroked his hand. "I know it. I feel it."

"Tula……"

"Shhh……you may leave me, Garth. But I know……you'll be back. We'll meet again someday……"

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"…because, deep down inside, you love life too much to ever punish yourself with my absence. No matter where you are……"

"……………."

Tempest's eyes popped wide open. They were streaming with purple haze. He arched back and flung his mouth open. A muffled roar. Bubbles shimmered up to the surface as he wailed in agony and let loose a monstrous pulse of telepathy.

FLASH!!!!!!!!!

The waters were still….but the eggs were shaking. Bubbling. Writhing from the inside out.

And chemicals that could have turned deadly were being sucked into the cocoons….and turning warm. Alive. Producing……

CRKKK!!!

CRKKKKKK!!!

CRKKK!!!!

Egg after egg hatched.

Worms squirmed loose.

Worms…

Then larvae….

Then wings….

Then mandibles….

Then floating….floating….floating…..

Upward.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

SPLOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!

Decker stumbled back.

Robin readied a birdarang instinctively while Starfire clung to him.

Beast Boy smiled wide.

The four all tilted their heads up as a stream of dripping moths soared upwards into the air. In the dozens. The hundreds. The thousands. They were making sounds….but it wasn't a deafening screech of menace. It was a chirping sound. Warm. Throbbing. The moths flocked in a buzzing cloud of wings and legs before curling around and streaming towards the crimson horizon…

And the wilderness beyond.

"Should we not track them??" Starfire remarked.

Beast Boy planted his hands into his hips. "Those critters? Without an evil supervillain or a deadly nerve agent controlling them…..I think they're a-okay." He turned and smiled at the others. "Just animals. New ones."

Robin nodded. He smiled back. "Yeah….exactly…"

SPLOOSH!!!

"???" Decker leaned over the dam's north side and peered down. "Fish boy's back."

The other Titans looked down.

"You okay??" Beast Boy asked.

Tempest treaded water. He nodded, winced, and rubbed an aching head. "More or less. Did I do it?"

"Dude….I think you're a daddy."

"Pfft…shut up."

"Hehehehehe!!"

"K-Kitten……"

"!!!" the four on top of the dam spun and looked.

Killer Moth was bleeding. Killer Moth was cut and bruised in many places. But he was alive. He crawled on the three limbs he had left till he was kneeling besides the butchered form of his daughter.

"Kitten….," he wheezed through a broken mask. He shook her shoulder with his left hand. "Darling….Daddy's here…..say something…..breathe….breathe….."

Silence.

Kitten didn't move.

Her eyes were closed across what was left of her face.

"K-Kitten…….," Killer Moth shuddered. He raised a shaking hand. He slid his mask off. All the others could see from where they stood was a gray head of hair as the man buried his face into her side and convulsed. "Kitten….my child…….my b-beautiful….beautiful child….."

Somewhere, there was a sobbing sound.

It was carried away in an autumn breeze.

And for a brief moment, everyone's gaze fell to the asphalt lanes of the dam.

Even Decker's.

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

"Last evening, a bloody drama came to a close as Commissioner Decker and the Titans apprehended Drury Walker a.k.a. Killer Moth and foiled a plot to infest the waterways of the City. The situation unfolded at the tail end to a string of bloody heists over the last few days during which Killer Moth enlisted the help of a mysterious swordsman in raiding Wayne Enterprises, Dayton Chemical Works, and S.T.A.R. Labs. Reports are sketchy, but suggest that a confrontation at the Shepherd Dam northwest of the City ended with the deadly disappearance of the swordsman and the expulsion of Killer Moth's deadly insects. Killer Moth has been arrested and sent to the hospital to recover from critical injuries. His daughter—Katrina Walker, a possible accomplice—was found dead at the scene. Local investigators are also rumoring the death of Franz Durk a.k.a. Fang. His body was found ten miles away in an unnatural cave believed to have been the most recent hideout of Killer Moth and his daughter during the recent—"

click!

Dolphin bracelets rattled on Lindsay's wrist as she turned the diner t.v. to ESPN. "Sheesh, boss!! Ya know how many kids eat here?? Turn it to something a bit less grim, why don't ya??"

Carman shouted from the diner's kitchen while making an omelet. "Hey! You're not supposed to be working today! Stop female dogging me about my t.v. tastes! Everything's grim these days! Face it!!"

Lindsay giggled. "Not if I can help it. Lord help us all." She hoisted a jacket over her shoulders for the autumn coldness outside. "I just came for my paycheck."

"It's underneath the register drawe—"

"I already got it! Way ahead of you!"

"Pfft. Fine, whatever. You're scheduled tomorrow, four to ten!"

"Awwww….you remembered I go to school. How sweet of you."

"Gonna kiss me?"

"Not on your life, lecher."

He chuckled and went on with his cooking.

"See ya…," Lindsay marched past patrons towards the entrance/exit of the diner. She waved at another cook. "Have a good day, Carl."

"Cya, Lindsay."

The freckled teenager whistled and happily skipped out of the diner's door…..and nearly bumped into him.

"Ackies!!" she stepped back.

"……….," Tempest smiled. He stood in dark jeans, a black shirt, and a jacket. Very….surfacey.

"……….," she blinked. She blushed. "H-Hey….uhm…..Hey." A blink. "……..Hey."

"Wanna 'hang out'?" he said. A smirk.

A beat.

She smirked back. "Sure….I was just gonna join my friends."

He half bowed and gestured. "Show me the way. I'm still lost on these dry streets."

"To be honest….I-I wasn't so sure you were gonna take me up on my offer."

"Your offer?" he shrugged. "I could have sworn I impressed myself upon you."

"Nonsense! I'd love to let you hang out with my friends and I and—"

"Are you ever afraid?"

Lindsay blinked. "Huh?"

"The stuff broadcasted on your people's televisions…," Tempest spoke. "The supervillains who frolic through this City. The bloodshed. Does it ever scare you?"

"…..well…..s-sometimes…..I like to think that there're stronger things in the world, though."

"Hmm….like what?"

"God, for instance."

"God?"

"Yeah….I believe in Him. What about you?"

Tempest shrugged. "I think…..I think the things that we fear…can sometimes be just a hint of things that we've yet to look forward to. Some of the deadliest things can spawn the happiest of lives."

"Wow…," she ran a hand through her stringy brown hair. "That sounds…intense. You wanna talk about it?"

"Nah…I wanna find out about these friends of yours and hopefully not be embarrassed to Hades and back."

Lindsay giggled. "Allrighty then….I'd be happy to show you off---er, I mean….introduce you to my friends."

Tempest gave her a wyrd, but amused glance. "Just….lead the way."

"Off to Bay Plaza…," she gestured. They walked down the sidewalk under the autumn air of the morning. "Oh…and it's Lindsay by the way."

"What is?"

"My name."

"Ah…I see…," Tempest nodded. He cleared his throat and pointed at himself. "Prince Garth."

Lindsay raised an eyebrow. "'Prince'??"

"It's a long story."

"I'm all ears."

"I'm sure you are. I assure you….I'm all gills."

She giggled.

"You do seem awfully amused."

"Why are you here?" she asked as they walked along. "What about your Titan friends?"

"Oh….engaging in some ridiculous tradition of theirs."

"Why aren't you joining them?"

Tempest smiled. "Somehow….I expect to have plenty of days to catch up."

"Wow, that's optimistic!"

"So it is…..so it is….."

-T-T-T-T-T-T-

No further than five blocks away, the six of us Titans sat atop the corner balcony of the pizza parlor in the City's Downtown.

We stood up briefly, clear mugs of root beer clanking against each other.

"To peace in the City!!"

"Peace in the City!!"

"Hee hee hee!!"

"Cheers!!"

"Cheers…"

"……….."

After our mugs collided, we all drank the soda heartily…and sat down around our umbrellaed table.

Cyborg finished a long guzzle and clanked his mug down onto the table. He exhaled and nudged Raven. "Told you about the nerve agent thing LONG ago! Didn't I?? Didn't I??"

"Woo wee…," she droned.

"Why's it always that we reach the edge of utter oblivion…," Beast Boy mused, "…and suddenly come roaring back like there's no tomorrow?"

I smirked. I sipped some more root beer.

"It's all a matter of balance, Beast Boy….," Robin smiled. Starfire sat noticeably….close to him at the table. "A balance of….morals or something," the Boy Wonder gestured. "Evil never wins."

"Yeah…but does good?" the changeling pointed.

"For a time…," Robin winked under his eyemask and took a bite of pizza. "…for a really…relaxing time."

"Heeeeee," Starfire cooed.

Raven looked boredly at her food. "As much as it feels nice to celebrate and stuff….," she gazed at the rest of us. She droned: "Is it right, considering all that's been lost?"

"There's always a loss…," Cyborg muttered.

Raven nodded. "True. Thanks for stealing my words, Cy."

Cyborg nodded. He smirked: "You're welcome."

Starfire whispered in Beast Boy's ear. "She just called him 'Cy'…."

"Yeah….," Beast Boy nodded. "Hehehehehe."

Raven glared.

I was silent.

Robin cleared his throat. "There will be……services." He gestured. "To honor the dead."

Cyborg nodded. "Like last time?"

"Yeah."

"That….I was there to remember….," Starfire uttered, her head lowered.

"Tell you what though…," Robin lifted his glass again. "Decker's on cloud nine."

"You don't say. I heard he kicked a lot of ass before the rest of us got there."

"More or less," Robin smirked. He sipped some more root beer, exhaled, and said: "He's glad to have this bloody streak off his hands. Now he has the energy and manpower to once again focus on the Zanzibar Piers case."

"Oh yeah…," Cyborg nodded. "I almost forgot about that."

"Not to mention the death of the Headmistress…," Robin continued. "Although we know that it was Viper who killed her, there are still many questions unanswered. About H.I.V.E….the prison explosion….and now the dragonflare found at Zanzibar."

"I hear that Viper was yakking off about some strange stuff before you and Decker offed the guy…," Beast Boy said. "What was that all about?"

"Viper was insisting that he become the incarnation of death through his actions…," Starfire murmured somberly. "And…considering the fact that he nearly got away with his genocidal schemes….he nearly did become such."

"Wouldn't surprise me," Raven droned. "The man was hellbent on murder."

"And yet….he spoke of another….did he not, Robin?" Starfire glanced over. "Viper was constantly comparing himself to another agent of death. Someone else whom he envied. Someone whom he was in contest with to become a 'reaper'…."

"…….," I stared off into space.

Robin shrugged. "Could be true. Could be not. I said it to Viper's face and I'll say it again. That man was a psychopath. And all plans of a psychopath fail. Viper himself learned this. It all fits the pattern of ….everything."

"Patterns are made to be broken…," Raven said.

"Thanks for putting the doom back in the gloom," Cyborg chuckled.

"Anytime."

Robin cleared his throat. "If there was indeed someone else whom Viper was trying to outshine in the blood arena…..I couldn't imagine it."

"Why not?"

"You tell me, Cyborg…," Robin leaned forward. "Could you possibly envision someone…or something….more deadly than the silent and merciless Viper was?"

Beast Boy bit his lip.

Raven stared through the table.

I took a deep breath.

Cyborg rubbed the human part of his head: "I'd think we'd know it by now."

"I think we would too…"

"Then…we have nothing to fear of?" Starfire asked. "As long as we are together?"

"I think I know who the incarnation of death is…," Beast Boy smirked.

"Amuse us."

The changeling pointed with a grin. "Ever see Raven on a weekday morning? Fresh out of bed? Whew!! Grim Reaper, move over!"

"Drop. Dead."

"Hehehehehe!! See??"

Robin laughed and Starfire giggled.

Raven rolled her eyes while Cyborg patted her on the back.

Beast Boy kept giggling.

I shook my head with a helpless smirk.

"Heh heh heh…don't be so quick to piss off the goth girls, Beast Boy," the Messenger said as he walked up to our table. He stood and smiled. "Flirt with them too much, and you find out they've got the kiss of death."

I glanced at him. I did a double-take, my black eyes wide. I jumped up to my feet. The chair I was sitting on fell onto its side.

"Whoah…hold your horses, Noir!" the Messenger held a hand up. "I hear of Swedish people peeing themselves the first time they see a Japanese person, but what's your excuse??"

My mouth was agape. My metal arm shivered.

"Uhhhh……," Beast Boy looked at the Messenger…then at me….then at the Messenger again.

"Can we help you?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah…you can order an extra glass of root beer," the Messenger pointed with a wink. "I'm going to be here for a while."

I kept blinking.

"Uhm….excuse me…," Robin stood up straight. Starfire too. "But…who are you? What do you want?"

"Robin, you're looking handsome today. Love what you did with the cape. But then again…how do you iron-press something that's made out of polymerized Titanium? Heheheheh." The Messenger smirked at me and pointed his thumb at the Titan leader. "Count three seconds and the little hothead will blow his top, I swear to Buddha."

"What's going on here?!?" Robin growled. He looked my way. "Noir, who is this?! Do you know this person?"

I gulped.

"Starfire…hold onto the bird boy, will ya?" the Messenger asked.

Starfire clutched to a shaking Robin, blinking.

I hand-signed as if my old friend could understand me: 'Why are you here?'

The Messenger looked at me from across the table. His hands dug into his sweatjacket's pockets and his mouth melted into something cold and somber. "I'm sorry I took so long, Noir. Things have been topsy turvey….but I had to come and tell you…"

"?????"

"It's Dagger, Noir…," the Messenger said. "He's alive."