These Black Eyes

by P0ST

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

233. A Hard Act to Follow part 18

233. A Hard Act to Follow part 18

November 30, 2004.

Smallville, Kansas.

8:02 pm

Kents' House

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

"………the police have made a complete survey of downtown Smallville since the capture of the robbery suspects. Authorities now say that the bank burglars from Central City actually had less explosives on hand during their taking of the young hostages at the Blue Pin Bowling Alley than previously assumed. Regardless, that does not in anyway subtract from the brave actions of Supergirl when she made her surprise appearance at the standoff to save the day. After Supergirl disposed of the last TNT bundle, two of the robbers attempted an escape from the Bowling Alley through the school bus that previously carried the young child hostages. Their dangerous, life-threatening move was prevented by an unexpected turn of events. An earthquake of sorts seems to have taken place in the downtown blocks, miraculously re-routing the schoolbus safely away from the vulnerable crowds and into a distant store front. Authorities are still at a loss as to what last apprehended these murderous crooks. Eyewitnesses state fantastical testimonies of having seen a strange, metaphysical youngster at the sight with her glowing hands extended toward the earthquake phenomenon, but these claims have yet to be investigated. Supergirl herself was not available for comment on either the possible presence of another powerful entity besides herself nor her reasons for being in Smallville on the day of the near-disastrous standoff."

John Kent took a deep breath. He was sitting—reclined—in an easy chair facing the gently flickering fire of the Kents' hearth.

Martha walked in quietly with a mug of hot cocoa. She pensively glanced over from the radio on the nearby table over to her husband as she sat down. "John…y-you said you heard from Kara an hour ago, right?"

"Yes, sweetie. She called earlier. Terra was with her."

"A-Are they both okay after today's events?" Martha asked, cradling her mug. "I feel so bad about Terra running off like she did…."

John ran a hand over his gray head. "They're both doing fine. But…they won't be home in a while."

Martha's lips parted. "They won't? What in lord's name for?"

John slowly shrugged, staring into the fire. "I wish I could say…."

"I'm worried, John. What if the media or investigators or some other people swallow up Kara and Terra over this? People have got to be suspicious after what happened today…."

"I dunno, Martha," John sighed. "I think people are a little too joyous to be suspicious now…"

"Mmmm….perhaps….," Martha sipped from her cup. She paused. She looked up again: "Do you think this is something Clark should know about?"

John smiled. He looked over. "Martha….I think you and I both know what's going on here…."

"………," the old woman took a deep breath. "She's a superheroine. This is her calling…."

John slowly nodded: "They can all remain farm boys and farm girls for only so long."

Marha sighed and glanced aside. "I wonder what it is that's dragging them all down this time? Dark Seed again?"

"Darkseid? I doubt it. Maybe Luthor….but…..I don't think it's really our place to know."

"And if this is really Kara's place now, we may not have to ever know about it…just sit back and be thankful."

"Heh…well put, Martha."

"……."

"…….."

"…….well, who's going to feed the chickens now?"

"I dunno…," John scratched his head. "I was thinking about that young boy at the McPherson farm. You know….Tobey?"

"John, honey?"

"Hmmm?"

"……..Tobey is a girl."

"Oh. Then…..cow milking?"

"Hehehehehehe…."

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

Smallville countryside.

8:12 pm

Abandoned barn.

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

"Look, I don't get it. If something is so important that it involves Terra this much, why don't you tell us? What's with this holding back?"

Terra was sitting in the corner of the rustic, run-down place. She hugged her knees and looked up with a nervous, little-girl face.

Kara stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at both the pink-haired sorceress and the blonde assassin. "Well? Gonna talk now?"

"We're not holding back….," Pulsade boredly sighed. "We simply don't have all the answers."

"And lemme guess. Having Terra with you two is gonna help you find all the answers?"

"……," Jinx bit her lip. "Y-Yes…."

Kara tossed her arms. "Perfect. Want her to sign a contract too?"

"I beg your bloody pardon?"

"I may not know Terra like a Titan would…," Kara murmured, frowning. "But I'm not about to let her repeat history!"

"Repeat history?"

"Don't you see? She's been through enough shit to last a lifetime! People only want to use her! I'm doing my best to provide her with the opposite of what she's been dealt with for ages! I'm trying to give her comfort! Prosperity! A safe harbor to rest in until it's time to be back with the people she really loves and who really love her!"

"There's nothing wrong with you taking care of her or her being in the hands of the Titans…," Pulsade growled. "We're not saying that—"

"Then it's settled!"

"No! It's not! If she wants to find her lost kid, she can't let herself get swallowed up in events as of late! If anything, you and the Titans should be helping her! Not us!"

"What do you think we've been doing?" Supergirl cackled.

"No!" Pulsade pointed. "You're too bloody stuck in this Red Aviary business!"

"So were you at one point!"

"Is that what the Noir chap told you?"

"Sh-She is right, Leslie…," Jinx murmured.

"Shut up, Jean," Leslie said. She turned to face Supergirl again. "We were wrong, okay? We admit that…"

"If you were wrong before, you can be wrong again."

Pulsade shook her head. "Not this time."

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I don't want to be here, that's why!" Pulsade snarled.

"Leslie….," Jinx touched her shoulder.

Pulsade tossed her arm off. "I didn't mind being arse over elbow in Vegas, as long as it meant getting Red Aviary off my and Jinx's fannies. But now everything really is all sixes and sevens. I was almost glad when Hull and Noir dropped in on Counter-Red-Aviary and ruined everything to rubbish. I wanted to get away from boiling events as far as possible! But that wouldn't be the…..the right thing to do…."

"Who's this 'Hull' you keep talking about?" Supergirl made a face. "That's the fifth or sixth time I've heard you talk about him."

"He's a former H.I.V.E. student like ourselves. Wise and smarty far beyond his years. A real bad-arse……and someone I hesitantly trust….," Pulsade finished with a murmur.

Supergirl raised an eyebrow. "'Hesitantly'?"

"Got us both there," Jinx pouted.

Pulsade elbowed her.

"Owie!"

"Hull has been in the thick of it."

"What is 'it'?"

"The dog's bullocks. Super secret, intense secrets lying underneath all things that are. I don't know if you're a closet fan of conspiracies, Supergirl. But this is where it all starts to snowball down the hill."

"I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Neither do we…..and……"

"We're scared," Jinx filled in.

Supergirl frowned. "So that's why you're after Terra. Cuz you're scared?"

"……"

"……"

Supergirl pointed; "That's still selfish, no matter what you call it. No deal, girls. If you want Terra, you're gonna have to go through me first. And unless you have a kryptonite dildo hidden in your utility belts or something, expect to lose a lot of limbs in the process."

"That's an insult!" Jinx hissed. She looked with sad cat-eyes at Pulsade: "I don't do 'utility belts'!"

Pulsade growled. "Nnnnrrrrrgh…..You don't give us enough credit, Kryptonian…."

Supergirl's fists clenched. "For the LAST time!"

"Kara….," Terra murmured.

"Quiet, Terra. I'm soooo going to smash these cheerleaders' faces in—"

"KARA!" Terra jumped up.

"…….?" Supergirl turned to her.

Terra stood in the corner of the run-down barn, sighing. "I…..I-I want to find my child…."

"……….."

"Maybe they're being selfish. Maybe they ARE trying to use me…..but don't you get it?" Terra's eyes were sad and her face was softly stretched. "I don't really care…."

Supergirl's lips pursed. "T-Terra……"

"I….I-I want to go with them," Terra nervously said.

"……….."

"…..Would….W-Would you go along too?" Terra wrung her hands behind her back and looked sheepishly towards the dirty floor. "….t-to protect me?"

"………..," Supergirl ran a hand through her platinum hair. She looked at the two villainous vixens. "…….." She looked at Terra. "……." She gazed heavenward towards through the broken shingles of the barn's rooftop. "Mmmmm…….Kela…….why me?"

"Hehehe…," Jinx smiled and winked a cat-eye at Pulsade. "Blondes…they always give in eventually…."

"Bloody straight," Pulsade nodded. A beat. She blinked and did a double-take at Jinx.

Jinx smiled proudly.

"But….," Terra spoke.

Everyone looked at me.

The blonde earth maiden clenched her jaw tight and sternly stared. "I'm the mother. And—to be frank—the mother has some stipulations….."

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

Gotham City.

Wayne Corp. Building.

8:17 pm

Underground Vaults.

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

Hostages shivered in the corner of the metallic dwelling. Guards, employees, Wayne Corp. Office workers. They all huddled against the wall, bound and gagged. Four fake-faced thugs stood above the two dozen men and women, keeping them under the gun. They exchanged glances with those guarding the vials across the basement expanse.

On the other side of the vaults, six huge 'trays' of metal containers holding the golden vials rested under shadowed ceilings. Metal walkways stretched overhead, occupied by men with machine guns and sniper rifles. Men with ordinary uzzis and shotguns stood all around the vials. They stood in waiting, as if on the verge of an intense invasion from every golden nook and cranny around them.

"What do you think the deal is?" one crook muttered to another. They both bore faces identical to a pair out of the hostages, thanks due to a metaphysical, muddy formula. "The Boss has twice as many of us on guard tonight. Something's gotta be up…"

"All I care is that I'm being paid a hell of a lot for this night," the other hissed back.

"Have you actually seen any of that green?"

"Nah, man. It's all credit now…."

"Heh. That's what scares me."

"……?" the guard looked at the first.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say the Boss expected something bad to go down today."

"Uh huh….."

"Remember how Trent and all his guys bought it at the Kane Building when Bane showed up with Dagger's HIND?"

"How can I forget…?"

"We're not supposed to be that expendable, man. But the Boss hasn't said a word about it. I think he's too wrapped up in himself and this Triangular crap."

"Shhhh! Careful who you call 'crap', man…."

"So what? The Boss' dog isn't here to bark at us now…"

"Speaking of which….," the other thug glared across the vaults. "Where's Croc anyways?"

"Remember? He went up with the other boys to check out the upper floors."

"Yeah? Well, he hasn't been back in nearly twenty minutes!"

"………."

"Something's up, man. Be on the look out…."

"Don't need to tell me twice…." Cl-Clak!

"………"

"………."

"……..sniff…sniff…."

"What is it?"

One thug made a face and glanced at the other. "Do you smell….smoke?"

FW-FWOOSH!

I materialized behind them.

TH-THWISH!

THWACK! SPLUT! One man's cranium divided muddily from my blow. I kicked his feet out from under him.

The other spun, gasped, and raised his pistol at me.

CRNKKK! I crushed the barrel with my left, black hand. WHUMP! I kneed him in the chest and shoved him on the ground. THWAP!

"It's that sword kid!"

"The Titan! The one from Metropolis!"

"Get 'em!"

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

Bullets landed all around me. P-P-PING! I made a show of running, jumping, and landing on the back of the man I just shoved back-first into the ground. Murk billowed down my legs, pulsed out of my ankles, and spread over the body of the man so that he glided sleekly over the extra-sleeky metal floor of the underground vault basement. In beautifully comical fashion, I 'surfed' the man's body several meters, spinning Myrkblade behind me to deflect bullets from vial guards, men on the upper walkways, and those surrounding the hostages.

CL-CL-CLANG!

CLANK!

"Nnngh! H-Hit him, you idiots!" the man shuddered beneath me.

I took a deep breath, vaulted off of him, flipped, and landed with my two feet slamming through his face.

SP-SPLAT!

"Skkktkkskkkktt!" he muddily gurgled.

I then dove forward with a breath.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

PING! P-P-PING!

Bullets flashed and bounced all around me.

I murked, rolled forward, and slid side-ways towards a wide elevator doorframe.

I ended in a fighting pose, Myrkblade raised high.

A crescent of fifteen gunmen lined up all around me. Weapons aimed.

Cl-Clak! Clik! Klak-Klak!

Tommy guns, uzzis, shotguns, and sniper laser lights trained at me from every crook in the place.

"Freeze, Titan!"

"……….," I frowned.

"We don't know how you got in here….," a high-ranking thug with a shotgun growled. "But no ghost—no matter how lucky—sneaks into the basement of Triangular and expects to live."

"Shouldn't have come here alone, ya dumbass!"

"Hahahaha!"

"………..," I smiled.

I couldn't agree more……

DING!

The elevator doors opened.

The thugs' jaws dropped.

I took a breath and flattened myself against the ground.

TH-TH-TH-TH-THWISH!

TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-TH-THWISH!

TH-TH-THWOOSH!

Two birdarangs, two nightarangs, and an explosive batarang soared out from the elevator car and straight at the guards.

CL-CL-CLANK!

CLANG!

TH-THWACK!

Nine of them were disarmed immediately by the streaking projectiles.

"Augh!" "Nnngh!" "Dah!"

Then the beeping batarang struck in the center.

BOOOOOM!

Bodies flew left and right, landing hard on the metal ground.

Those in the 'crescent' still standing winced, glanced over me at the elevator, and gasped.

Three heroes leapt out. Nightwing and Batgirl on the sides. And Robin—quite alive—in the center. He posed with his bo-staff twirling as I stood up beside my leader. Th-Th-Thwish! Robin glared. "Now…..someone was saying something about a ghost?"

"It's R-Robin!"

"Screw that…it's the whole Batman Troupe!"

The thugs trembled. "Th-Then that means…."

"NNNGAAAUGH!" Batman ran out of the elevator, tossing something heavy over his head. Killer Croc's body.

SWOOOOOSH! WHAM!

Killer Croc slammed through three guards at once.

The others backed up and rejoined the thugs on the other side of the vault.

The riflemen and crooks on the overhead walkways trained their weapons in our direction.

Batman walked up besides Robin and I. "Feeling alive?" he uttered.

Robin nodded. He eyed the dozens of regrouping enemies and readied a fan of birdarangs. "Today is a good day to be alive to die…"

"For a moment there, I thought you were dropping that hardcore half of you."

"Seriously, Batman….," Robin smirked. "I'm beginning to think I was intimidating you…" Robin looked at me and squinted half of his mask in a 'wink'.

I winked back at him through my shades, smirking.

"I think I'm going to be out of a job soon," Nightwing murmured.

Batgirl giggled.

Red sniper laser sights swarmed up around us.

"Ahem…," Nightwing cleared his throat.

"Titans….Heroes…," Batman readied two batarangs and crouched in a ready position. "…..let's go save my business."

"Oh, if you say so."

The lasers 'blinked'.

PFFT!

PFT-PFFT!

THWIISSSH! THW-THWIISSSH!

Robin and I charged forward, spinning and twirling our respective staff and sword.

CL-CL-CL-CLACK!

CL-CLANG!

We deflected the sniper fire.

During the split-second time it took the walkway thugs to reload, Batman, Nightwing, and Batgirl ran beside us and skidded to a stop with a violent toss of their projectiles.

TH-TH-TH-THWISH!

SW-SW-SW-SW-SWOOSH!

CL-CL-CLANK!

Batarangs and nightarangs sliced apart riffles, knocked pistols through the air, and mercilessly slapped thugs upside their skulls.

Guns shattered and littered the floor. A handful of crooks fell over the platform railings with a cry. "Waaaaaugh—" THW-THWAP!

Through the raining chaos, the rest of the fifty-to-sixty thugs charged towards us with guns of all shapes and sizes, shouting an underground warcry: "RAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

Batman clenched his jaw and shouted. "Now! GO!"

"Hell yeah!" Nightwing extended his costume's wings and glided in. FWOOOSH!

Batgirl shot her grappling hook—POW!—CLANK!—and swung forward.

Batman charged, swinging bolos over his head.

Then Robin and I streaked forward with weapons raised. "HIYAAAAH!" SW-SW-SWISH!

All five of us met all five dozen of them in the center of the metallic arena.

SLASH!

SM-SMACK!

THWACK!

RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT!

Bullets whizzed past me as I blurred a zig-zag around the first layer of thugs and exploded with a spinning slash of Myrkblade in the center of the insane crowd. TH-TH-THWACK! There bodies flew like living, human-sized shrapnel against their counterparts.

Robin burst through these clumping, colliding individuals with an upswing of his staff. SMACK! "RAAAUGH!" He jumped, spun, flung his foot out, and kicked two thugs across their muddy cheeks. SP-SPLAT!

The men stumbling back from Robin's blows soon found their legs wrapped together beneath them by the weights of Batman's flung bolos. They teetered….tottered…and fell into Batman's iron fists as he charged through. WHAM! THOK! The Dark Knight smashed two faces in and uppercutted a thug coming at him with a butt of a shotgun. Another crook aimed a Thompson's machine gun at Batman's skull. RAT-A-TAT-TAT! Batman performed a gliding slide towards the man, tripping his ankles out from underneath him. "Wh-WHOAH!" CLUTCH! Batman caught the crook's body before he had a chance to fall down. The Dark Knight stood up, weightlifting the thug and throwing him with a growl through three uzzi bearers on the sidelines. "RRRRGHH!" TH-TH-THWUMP!

As the enemy bodies ragdolled across the 'arena', two more with double pistols ran up. Batman glared at them. The men prepared to fire when Nightwing glided in from behind them and hooked an elbow around each crook's neck. He dove forward, flipped, and rolled up on his knees…tossing both men forward in the inertia of his acrobatics. And he was smirking.

"Yaaaaaiiee!" the men shrieked as they flailed over the heads of the battlefield and collapsed against a recovering group of beaten thugs on the other side. TH-THUD! In the meantime, Batgirl swung over the crowd, released the handle of her grappling hook on an upswing, and flipped three full times before descending on a gunman's shoulders. TH-THAP! She vaulted violently off him, plowing him to the floor. She twirled nimbly in the air, landed in a slide, and then performed a handstand with her lower body twirling outward in the air. She slapped the craniums of four crooks with her kicking feet, reducing them to muddy splotches. They collapsed on all sides of her as she stood up, produced two handfuls of explosive pellets, and tossed them hard to the floor.

BL-BLAM!

The bodies of two crooks flew through the air.

SWISH! Nightwing glided in and slammed his elbow into them, knocking them to the floor. THWAP! Guards came in on all sides of him. He snarled and spun a roundhouse kick downing two thugs before he elbowed his way into a gunman, disarmed him of his Tommy gun, and uppercutted him with the rifle's butt. SP-SPLAT! He spun and tossed the gun into the chest of another thug. WHUMP! He smacked the man's muddy face in with a left and right hook, then kicked his chest and sent him flying back into the back of another. WH-WHACK! "OOF!"

Batgirl was karate-chopping and kicking two men on either side of her. One grabbed her from behind while another aimed an uzzi at her chest. She struggled for a moment before gritting her teeth, acrobatically lifting her legs, and then jerking her lower body back down to propel the man gripping her from behind into the uzzi bearer before her. TH-THWOOSH! WHAM! Another thug came up from behind her. She spun blindly and kicked the pistol out of his grip. THWACK! The man gasped as she hoisted him up with a hand around his throat.

"I cracked the security code that kept you numskulls hiding here in the vault!" Batgirl smiled. "Now, how about I crack what's left of your skulls?" THWACK! SPL-SPLAT! Her karate chop divided his head before she spun with a cry and flung the man across the domain.

Nightwing was punching and dodging bullets as he stumbled backwards towards her.

Batgirl backflipped form a sudden trio of guards reaching out for her.

She and Nightwing stood back to back.

TH-THWISH! Nightwing produced two metal clubs and spun them from each forearm. Sweating, he looked over his shoulder and smirked at Batgirl. "So…this is how we 'catch up', huh?"

"Wanna buy me dinner once this is all said and done?"

"Whatever it is…don't make it pudding!"

"Heheheh…," Batgirl produced two batarangs. "I think that's the entrée surrounding us right now."

"Heheheheh….I love it when you're badass."

"Save it."

The guards closed in all around the two. Batgirl and Nightwing fought back to back. Batgirl let out warshrieks and tossed batarang after batarang at the advancing gunmen. Nightwing grunted and twirled his clubs, deflecting bulletfire and smacking skull after muddy skull of the Triangular thugs.

In the meantime, Robin was vaulting over the crowds. He twirled through the air, spinning his staff, and came violently down on a clump of gunmen. RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!

"RrrrRRAAUGH!" THW-THW-THWISH! CL-CLANK! He slammed through two uzzi bearers with his steel boots and slashed his staff out, splattering the shape-shifting skulls of three men in a row. He rolled along the ground, stood up, and immediately slammed his foot into an incoming thug with a switchblade. WHAM! He spun back, twirled his staff all around him, and repeatedly struck limb after skull after backside of a dozen, assaulting crooks. TH-TH-THWACK! WHACK! SLAM!

"Nnnngh!" he severely reverse-jabbed a man in the stomach behind him. WHUMP! He then backflipped and came about with an upright down kick of his boots into the same man's shoulders. WHACK! The man stumbled into a thick crowd of writhing, pained thugs. Robin landed, reached into his utility belt, and flung his arm back out with a fan of exploding discs. THWIIIIISH! BLAM! Bodies flew and landed out-cold on an empty stretch of metal floor. Robin smirked, stood up, and charged at a thick group of men firing at him. BL-BL-BLAM! RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT! BANG! Robin twirled his staff, deflected the shots, cartwheeled to the side, leapt up, and shot out a fan of birdarangs in mid-air. THW-THW-THW-THWISH! The projectiles swished down and stuck into two guns, a wrist, and a shoulder. TH-TH-TH-THUNK!

"Augh!" "Nnngh!"

Robin flew into the guards, spun, and tripped all of them with a single downswing of his bo-staff. THWISSSSH! TH-TH-TH-THUD! One last thug stood before Robin, trembling with a gun in his grasp. "……..," Robin glared at him. The thug gulped, simpered, and dove into the ground himself. THUD! "……." Robin smirked.

In the meantime, I was blurring through the flanking crowd of men. I twirled Myrkblade, deflecting bullets from random marksmen around me. I murked towards a heavy-built man in front of me. Just as he fired his shotgun—BLAM!—I teleported through him, materialized on the other side, and stabbed Myrkblade in reverse. SLIIINK! The blade slid in between his skin and the material of his shirt. I teleported again so that I was holding Myrkblade forward. I gritted my teeth, charged black smoke through my upper body, and spun…swinging the man around and into the wall beside me. WH-WHAM! I took a deep breath….then paused. My black eyes twitched under my shades. I noticed red streams of lasers skewering the smoke billowing up around me. I took a breath and ducked just in time—PFFT! PIFFT! THRIFFT! Sniper fire streaked over my head. I rolled forward, dodging more bullet impacts behind and aside me. I jumped up and ran towards the side of the vaults. The red laser sights streamed after me. Six or seven of them from the men on the walkways above. THRFFT! PFFT! I ran up a wall, flipped off it, twirled smokingly through the air, and slashed Myrkblade in the air. P-PING! I deflected two sniper bullets back up, smacking a rifle out of the hands of one of the men. "Augh!"

Robin looked up, sweating. He saw the gunmen on the walkway. He shouted at me. "Noir!"

"?" I looked towards him.

He ran in my direction past Batman slamming the faces in of a few gunmen. "Alley oop!"

I nodded. CHIIING! I ran, dodged bulletfire, and slid on one knee.

Robin cartwheeled, flipped, and jumped at me.

I gritted my teeth, held my flesh and black hand together, and surged murk through them.

PLANT! Robin's boots landed on my palms.

I pulsed murk and shoved my arms up.

The smoke energy propelled the Boy Wonder up…up….up…

He bolted up, flipped once, and landed nimbly in a crouching perch on the metal railing of a walkway thick with thugs.

CL-CLANK!

The snipers gasped and stared at the Titan Leader up close.

Robin glared. "You guys looking for some attention?"

"Hit 'em!"

Three snipers aimed at his forehead.

Ignoring the glowing red spots on his forehead, Robin gritted his teeth, produced a metal disc, and tossed it. THWISSSH! It flew at an angle and bounced off between the left and right metal platform railing. CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG-CLANG! The ping-pong projectile zig-zagged past the men, raining them with hot sparks of friction. They flinched and jolted from the burning shower. "Augh!"

"RAAAUGH!" Robin then dove forward with his staff. TH-THWACK! He plowed through the first sniper and ran down the length of the elevated walkway. Swinging his staff, he knocked them one by one off the platform.

THWACK! "Aaaaugh!"

SLAM! "Yaaah!"

CLANG! "Waaaaieee!"

Unlike the other thugs on the ground, their skulls and body parts didn't splatter in muddy manner. They were apparently backup….not masquerading replacements of the Wayne Corp. guards.

"The more the merrier…," Robin ended with an uppercut that slammed the last sniper virtually against the ceiling. THWACK! "That's my lesson for life!"

BL-BLAM! BLAM!

"?" Robin looked over. He gasped and ducked from lead shot impacting the metal platform all around him. Shotgun-armed men from a platform across the way were laying in cover fire from afar.

BL-BLAM!

BL-BL-BLAM!

P-P-PING! CL-CLANG!

Robin took a deep breath. "Okay Tim….j-just leave the talking to me," Robin quietly murmured. He tensed his muscles, breathed in deeply to give himself strength, and shot back up with an unleashing fan of explosive discs. "YAAAAAAUGH!"

SWISSSSSSSSSH! The projectiles soared right under the ceiling and exploded around the support bars of the platform. P-POW! The bars shattered. The walkway groaned, and a good third of it broke free from the ceiling and fell to form a forty-five degree slab with the floor. SWOOOSH!

On the ground, Batgirl and Nightwing swiftly leapt out of the way before the platform's end could strike. CLAAA-AAA-AAANG! Those crooks who were nearby on the floor fell down, stunned by the heavy impact. Those still on the walkway gasped and slid down the angled platform and rolled painfully across the floor.

POW! CLANK! Robin fired a grappling hook and swung onto the top of the platform to take out the remaining thugs.

I looked overhead as my leader sung. I was panting. Sweating. I paused amidst the thunder and heated chaos of impacting bodies everywhere to look around. My black eyes suspiciously traced the amber-tinted metal of the basement. The vault doors. The shadows and the nooks and crannies of the place.

"…………."

My brow furrowed.

Where's Red Aviary?

Where are you, Slade?

This is it.

This is 'out in the open'.

Why haven't you attacked Robin and I or the rest of the team yet?

Did Triangular suddenly become valuable to you?

I shuddered and shook the eeriness off before swiftly twirling Myrkblade and blocking the gunfire from an advancing set of muddy-butchered men with Tommy Guns advancing towards me on the left. RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT! CL-CL-CLANG!

In the meantime, Batman was punching through the splattery faces of two more crooks with his gloved fist. "Rrghh!" WH-WHAM! THUD! He took a deep breath, his black cape settling around him. He looked around and found his part of the underground fight clear. In fact, the thugs were starting to fall unconscious in increasing number around them. A good half of the Triangular guards were lying cold on the floor with their muddy, shape-shifting parts slowly trying to reshape into normalcy.

"Something's wrong….," he panted. His eyeslits narrowed. "This is too easy…"

He looked over. He saw Batgirl finishing off a cluster of men around her. Beyond, the hostages rested unguarded. Stirring….frightened.

"Batgirl!" Batman shouted, pointing across the vaults. "The place is clearing out! Get those men and women out of here!"

She nodded. She kicked the face-in of one last thug before dashing over with a batarang and cutting the bindings of the first innocent person she reached.

"Now to get to the bottom of this mess….," Batman grunted and prepared to dash over and help Nightwing…when a body stirred and stood up tall and menacing behind him.

"Hressssh…."

"……….," Batman turned around.

WHAM! A scaley fist slammed into his mask.

"Nnngh!" Batman slid back, teetering from the muscular blow.

Killer Croc limped towards him, rubbing his bruised skull and frowning. "Hrrssshh….you taught yer kid rough, Batsy…"

"Waylon Jones…," Batman clenched his fists and stood across from the Croc. Pacing… "Come to make me laugh?" the Dark Knight droned.

"Hresssh….heheheh…," Croc's glistening jaws grinned yellow and serrated. "You always know the best insults…."

"And you're a waste of my time."

"Thanks fer the invitation, pal! HRESSH!" and Killer Croc pounced the Batman—

SOCK! Batman immediately uppercutted the Southern wrestler.

"NNNGH!" Croc rubbed a bleeding jaw. "Hressh…FINE! I get the SECOND HIT!" SWOOOSH! WHAM!

"UGH!" Batman's face jerked back.

"RAAAUGH!" Killer Croc charged and gripped Batman's shoulders. CLUTCH! He forced his massive weight down on the caped crusader.

Batman struggled gainst him. "Nnnghhh….NnnngHHHHAA!" he slapped Croc's forearms away. He flew a right hook across Croc's cheek.

WHAM! The reptile's head jerked aside.

A left hook.

SMACK! Killer Croc teetered back.

Batman gritted his teeth, reached back, produced a batarang, and stabbed it towards Croc's shoulder--

GRIP! Croc grabbed Batman's glove. Gums bleeding, he turned his pale face and snarled at Batman for half a second before---"RRRRGH!" WHAM! He headbutted the Dark Knight.

"AAUGH!" Batman jolted back. CRKKK! One of his cowl's trademark ears snapped off.

"HRESSSSHAAA!" Croc spun and flung Batman across the vault.

TH-TH-THWUMP! Batman rolled and landed chest first, stirring and wincing.

Killer Croc stomped towards him, flexing his upper muscles. "Heh heh heh….should have stuck to your filthy Batcave, ya varmint! Yer kids are gettin' better than their 'Papa', Batsy! Unlike you, they're not afraid to show their faces! They're not afraid to take chances! They're not afraid to—"

Batman sat up, his cape unfurling to reveal a grappling hook in his hand. POW! SWIIIIISH! The grappling claws of the hook flew and closed tightly around Killer Croc's groin.

"SNKKKkkktttt!" the reptile went cross-eyed. "Momma!"

Kneeling, Batman yanked back on the grappling hook cord with all his might. "NNNGHH!"

YANK! The grappler lifted Killer Croc off his legs by his groin and slammed him back down to the vault's metal floor. SMACK!

Batman limped up, frowning. "Don't judge a father 'till you become one, scum."

"Grrrr….," Killer Croc stood up, teeth glistening. "Why I oughta—"

SWOOOSH-THW-THW-THWP! Weighted bolos flew in and wrapped around the mutant's neck, suffocating him. "Snkkkttt!" he clawed in vain at his blue face.

Batman charged over and stopped with a black boot flying up Croc's face. THWACK!

"HRSHSSKKKKT!" Killer Croc rolled across the floor.

Batman slumped halfway to a crouching position where he stood, panting. While Croc was out of it, he stared across the heated battle scene. His eyeslits thinned.

There were four guards still standing besides the vials. Standing 'at ease' with their rifles in their grasp. They hadn't moved to attack the caped crusaders at all.

"…..," Batman stood up straight and swallowed. "What the Hell are they waiting for….?"

"Hressh!"

"……," Batman looked over.

Killer Croc hopped up to his feet, grappling hook-less. He pulled some slack on the bolo wrapped about his neck. Hissing, he lifted the cords to his mouth and bit straight through it with sharp teeth. SNAP! He palmed the weights, snarled, and flung them one by one at Batman.

Batman raised a forearm and deflected the first two. THWAP! WHAP! But took the brunt of the third and fourth in his chest. WH-WHUMP! "Ooof!" he exhaled and stumbled back.

Killer Croc pounced him.

Batman lifted in time to bear the brunt of Croc's tackle, and soon the two were again grappling their way across the sidelines…

In the meantime….

"HAAA!" Nightwing spun and slapped the ends of his metal clubs across the faces of two thugs. SP-SPLAT! He pivoted and kicked their bodies down with a lean leg. TH-THWUMP! A few lasting thugs fired at him from the side. RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT! Nightwing ran forward, pivoted, dodged the streaking bullets, and leapt straight up. In mid-air he spun and tossed his clubs off towards the men in an arc. TH-THWISSSSH! One metal weapon slammed a leg out from under one thug, grounding him. Another stunned the trigger-hands of another. SMACK! In mid-air, Nightwing held his breath, extended his arms, produced his gliding wings, and drifted down in a fast dive towards the last two. PLOW! He slammed them to the floor, rolled forward, and jumped up to his feet. He panted…sweated…and brushed a fountain of long black hair out from over his brow. "Damn, I'm sexy."

He looked over and saw Batgirl freeing half of the hostages already. "You got them?"

"Yeah! They're out of here in just a sec!" the redhead panted back.

"Good…," Nightwing picked up his clubs and marched across the metal basement towards where I fought the last of the grounded thugs. Robin was knocking a few final snipers off the metal walkways above. "I've got the rest of the place." He smirked.

SL-SLASH! Myrkblade swam through the air, severing the ends of Tommy guns.

The guards gasped and stumbled back.

I gritted my teeth, twirled, blurred at them, and teleported through three bodies with an upswing of my smoking blade.

TH-TH-THWACK!

I froze in position.

The bodies of the thugs behind me lingered for a moment…jolted as if impacted by invisible munchkin fists, and collapsed hard to the ground.

"…..," I panted and stood up.

DING!

"…..?" I glanced to my left.

Elevator doors were opening.

What the--?

There were two bodies in the elevator. I couldn't see the second one in the back of the car from the one in the foreground. A thin figure in a trenchcoat. He raised his fists at me.

Yeah, okay.

TH-THWISH! I twirled Myrkblade and charged the figure—

WHAM! A metal fist slammed into my chest.

"!" I rolled and tumbled twenty feet clear across the vaults.

"Whoah!" Nightwing hopped over me, his eyemask wide.

The trenchcoated figure murmured from a distance: "You're getting sloppy, squirrel. Must I beat your face in till it's bad as I've made it look in front of the league?"

I looked from where I lay painfully on the ground. Aw hell no……

Batgirl gasped from the sidelines: "Nightwing, who's that?"

Nightwing had a disgusted look on his face: "Robin Leach?"

"Charming…but no…," the figure tore his trenchcoat and hat off, revealing the full-body skeleton of Metallo. A titanium skull face tilted to the sides and emanated an electronic voice of the jovial fiend: "Looks like there's a lot of skeletons in Bruce Wayne's closet. Ha…hahahaha!"

"It's Metallo!" Batgirl uttered.

"Yeah, no shit…," Nightwing twirled his clubs, let out a warcry, and charged the Metropolitan fiend. "Yaaaaugh!"

I gasped and waved my black hand. No! Don't--

SWOOOSH! Nightwing jump-kicked the metal menace. THWAP! He bounced off and fell clumsily on the floor. THWOMP!

"Heh…how do you do," Metallo gestured a 'hat tipping'.

"Nnngh…," Nightwing winced on the floor. "N-No shit…."

GRIP! Metallo gripped the long-haired hero by the neck and lifted him up high. "Why…oh WHY am I always being called on to clean out Triangular's belfry?"

"I-I guess Rosie the Maid was out of town…," Nightwing wheezed.

"Oh…is that a robot joke? Hahaha! I'm going to have fun killing you, boy!"

SW-SW-SW-SWISH! CLANK! A batarang embedded in Metallo's metal skull.

"……….'ow'…..," he murmured. He turned and glared.

Batgirl had charged up and was producing a fan of bladed projectiles in either hand. Behind her, the hostages rushed freely into an elevator and escaped the nasty scene. She glared at Metallo and uttered: "Put…him….DOWN."

I stepped up besides her with a smoking Myrkblade lifted menacingly.

"Ahhh….to once again be a god amongst insects…," Metallo repositioned Nightwing in his grip and flung him like a javelin at Batgirl. THWOOOSH!

"YAAAUGH!"

Batgirl gasped and stretched her arms out to grab the airborne hero--

WHAM! Nightwing slammed into her, head-first.

"Ooomph!" the two toppled and tumbled across the vaults floor.

I streaked towards Metallo, Myrkblade swinging high.

SLAASSSH!

He raised a metal hand. GRIP! My smoking blade jerked to a stop in his palm.

I struggled, yanking at the hilt.

"HA!" he kneed me in the chest.

WHUMP!

I wheezed.

He spun three hundred and sixty degrees, twirling me around him and stopping so that I was tossed at Batgirl's and Nightwing's recovering bodies.

WH-WHUMP!

All three of us tumbled across the metal floor.

"Ha ha ha ha!" Metallo raised his skull-face and laughed electronically. "You're all over yourselves with fear! How fitting…" CHTUNG! He extended a laser rifle from his forearm and aimed at the three of us. "Roast in Hell, you pimply sods…"

SW-SW-SW-SWISH! CLANK! A birdarang sailed into his forearm, disabling the laser rifle with dancing sparks. ZZZZTT!

"Augh!" Metallo stumbled for a moment. He glanced up. "Oh fudge….not you…."

"Yes me….HRAUGH!" Robin glided down with a metal staff slamming across Metallo's skull.

CLANG!

"AUGH!" Metallo stumbled to the side. "Die, you yellow-caped bugger!" He lifted a foot and fired a rocket blast from the metal sole.

Robin backflipped the fire, shot a grappling hook into the bottom of a mangled walkway, and swung with his metal boots into Metallo's chest.

THWAP! Robin gripped Metallo's torso with his ankles, nimbly held his strained upper body up, and repeatedly pummeled Metallo's cranium while perched on his reeling frame. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Metallo stumbled back a dozen feet. "NnnnngghhhAAAAUGH!" he flew a fist finally into Robin's rib cage.

THWAP!

"Oof!" Robin fell off. Before he could backflip—

CLUTCH! Metallo got a metal handful of the Boy Wonder's cape. "Yaaaugh!" he swung Robin by the titanium polymer article into the ground. WHAP!

Robin winced.

Metallo raised his foot to crush the Titan Leader's skull. "Do me a favor and die again, Robin. You were too lazy about doing it the first time—"

SWOOOSH! I slid on the ground, knocked Robin away, and gripped the bottom of Metallo's foot with my new, black prosthetic. SHOVE!

Metallo flew up and landed on his back. WHANG! "OOF!"

Batgirl cartwheeled over and staddled his chest. Nightwing dove and stood on his shoulders.

"Show us your off-switch, jerk!" Batgirl shoved a taser into the outer shell of Metallo's energy core.

ZZZZZZZTTTT!

"YAAAAUGH! Damn flies!" Metallo fired his ankle rockest.

FWOOOMB!

I was blown back from the blast, rolling across the floor.

PFTSHOOOOOOOO! Metallo slid across the metal basement at a high speed. Batgirl and Nightwing clung on for their lives.

"The rodeo clown who lasts the longest gets an aneurysm from yours truly! Ha HA!" And Metallo angled himself so that he rocketed up into the air. Nightwing and Batgirl dangled, trying to jab him open with their projectiles.

Robin and I hopped to our feet and rushed beneath them to assist.

And in the meantime, the second figure marched out of the elevator. Flipping a coin in a gnarled blue hand.

"……….hrmm……," Two-Face grunted. He flipped. Flipped. Flipped. Clutched. "……." He calmly looked over Batman's way….

Or….Batman's and Killer Croc's way……

"RGGH!" WHAM!

Killer Croc stumbled back from Batman's fist. He snarled and came back with a charging elbow.

THWAP!

Batman reeled.

Killer Croc spun about and gripped him from behind. Trying to pop his neck off.

Batman struggled…gritted his teeth…and rammed the back of his head into Killer Croc's face. WHUMP!

"Hressh!" Croc winced and lost some of his grip.

Batman then kicked his leg up backwards, slamming Croc's upper thigh. He grunted and tossed the reptile's hulking weight over his shoulders and into a wall.

SWOOOSH-WHAM! Croc landed and slumped on the ground upside down. "Ohhhhh…..," he moaned.

Batman panted, clutching his bruised ribs. His cape and cowl were tattered as he limped towards Killer Croc.

"Gonna f-finish me off…Batsy…?" Killer Croc grumbled.

Batman produced a batarang. "Don't tempt me…"

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

Hckkk……ckkkk…..

"Hressh……just wh-what kept you hiding in that nasty cave of yours for so long? You scared of the same thing Triangular is?"

Batman looms above Croc, his batarang hand raised. Red streams cascade all over his figure and dance off his forearm like a flickering flag.

"I don't fear. I challenge."

"Truer words were never before spoken by a coward……"

"And you make a good example. Working for Two-Face and Dagger? I didn't think you could sink so low, Jones……"

Snkkktkktk! Clik-Clik-Clik-Clik-Hckkkkk…….

Killer Croc stands up, red fountains sloshing around him and morphing through the air in crimson laughs.

"Notice where Mad Hatter is, Batsy? Lock-Up? Bane? They've all tried to be 'smart'. But none of them were tough enough to outlive the Parasite. Now I may not be the smartest kid on the block…but even I know when it's time to call it quits on the solo act and start supporting the real go-getters in this world!"

"You're just a common thug, Croc. Always were. Always will be."

Hckkk-Clik-Clikkkkt!

Red streams.

SWOOOSH!

Killer Croc rears his arms and coils his legs. "And you're just a corpse, leather boy! HRESSH!"

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

Killer Croc leapt at Batman.

Batman flung his birdarang.

SW-SW-SWISH!

SLINK! The projectile grazed Killer Croc's shoulder, splashing a red stream.

Croc took the pain and threw his weight down on the Dark Knight.

TWOMP!

"Nnngh!" Batman tossed himself back, rolled down, stood on his shoulders, and kicked Croc over and off him.

"HRESSSSH!" Croc flailed and tumbled across the floor.

Batman jumped up and charged him.

Croc stood up and crossed his arms to block Batman's incoming punches.

"RGHHHH!"

THWAP! SMACK! WHAM!

In the meantime, Metallo was hovering in the air on ankle rockets. Batgirl and Nightwing hung off him, doing their best to pummel his upper, metal body with sharp weapons and expert fists.

CLANK!

SMACK!

SL-SLAP!

"Hahahhaha!" Metallo clenched his skull teeth in a fleshless attempt to 'smile'. "Tickle me…do I not scoff?" He flexed his mighty titanium limbs outward.

WH-WHAP!

Batgirl was backhanded. "Uff!" she gasped, winced, and fell hard to the distant floor below.

"Batgirl!" Nightwing shouted.

"Go join her, Romeo! Hahahaha!" Metallo's head spun one hundred eighty degrees and skull-butted Nightwing off his metal shoulders.

THWAP!

"Augh!" Nightwing flailed before gliding to the floor.

SNAP! Metallo jerked his back into forward position. "Ah…that's better…."

TH-TH-TH-TH-THWISH! CHTUNK!A birdarang flew up and stuck with its sharp wing digging into Metallo's robotic eye.

ZZZTT! "AUGH!" Metallo twitched and convulsed from an electric shock fountaining down his body from his skull.

Robin stood beneath him with his throwing arm outstretched. He frowned and pointed. "Noir! Bring him down!"

I nodded. FWOOOSH! I ran and jumped with a murk-pulsing vault. I soared up, flipped, planted my feet against the bottom of a metal walkway, and shoved off. THWOOOSH! I soared at Metallo's backside with Myrkblade swinging at full propulsion.

THWACK!

Metallo went sailing down towards the floor.

Robin stood ready with his bo-staff twirling, raised back like a bat, and sailing forward at the point of impact.

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

CLANG!

Metallo's body tumbles across the floor with a frothing cloud of red..

He freezes on his knees, groans electronically, and struggles to get up.

Noir lands behind him. Smoke dances out of his eyes as he twirls his sword and mercilessly pummels Metallo's skull from behind. CLANG! CLANK!

"Augh! Go crawling back into some volcano!" Metallo hisses and backhands Noir.

THWAP! The smoking swordsman falls back.

"RRRRGH!" Robin flips in—smoking red--and lands with a staff striking Metallo across the chest. CL-CLANG!

Metallo jolts to his feet and wobbles.

HckkkkKKKkkktttt! Clik-Clik-Clik-Clikkkktttt…….

Robin advances on Metallo, spinning and twirling his bo-staff.

CL-CLANG! SMACK! THWACK!

Metallo stumbled back, readies a laser rifle, and fires at Robin's ankles.

ZZZZAP!

A puff of red.

Robin has leapt up. He leaps in the air, lands with his ankles on Metallo's shoulders, and twists with his feet. "Rrraugh!"

CK-CK-CK-CRK! Metallo's skull is forced to twist around.

Robin flips off, lands, billows red, and slams his staff up Metallo's reversed snout.

THONK!

Metallo stumbles. Grunting electronically.

Clik-Clik-Clik-Clik-Snkkkkkttt!

Nightwing glides in on the scene with a vapor of red and slams his fist into Metallo's metal ribs.

Metallo stumbles, twists his head back into a key position, and swings at Nightwing.

Nightwing backflips out of the way. "Too slow, Robby!"

"Keep jesting. It'll make it rewarding once I pull your tongue out."

Robin snarls and charges Metallo's behind with trailing red murk. "Not if we pull your attitude out first!"

SW-SWISH!

CLUTCH! Metallo grips Robin's staff and kicks him back with a red splash.

Noir leaps back in with a black streak and thwacks Metallo three times with his obsidian blade.

Metallo slams his foot into the metal floor.

The shockwave forces Noir to jump back.

Nightwing dives in, slamming clubs into Metallo's skull. CL-CLANK! Sparks fly.

Metallo shrieks and grabs Nightwing, tossing him across the vault.

Noir and Robin advance again and the fight goes on.

Hckkkkk……

In the meantime, Batgirl sits on the floor, rubbing her head. She slowly stands up, red vapors cascading around her figure. She pulls out a couple of batarangs, facing the Metallo fight and panting. The red focuses in on her…highlighting her. Giving her an aura of dancing red. Oblivious, she takes a huge breath for strength and makes to run toward the Metropolitan android.

Clik-Clik-Clik-Clik-SNKKKKKTTT-Hckkkk……

SWOOSH!

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

Just as Batgirl began her charge, she heard a voice to her side—

"I wouldn't bother. Metallo's the least of your worries."

The redheaded crusader froze in place and looked over. Her eyes widened. "Two-Face! You're…--"

"Here?" the villain raised an eyebrow above his mutated optic. He flipped a coin as the four thugs that were still guarding the golden vials stood by his side. "This is Triangular's most important commodity. Of course I had to be here to see to the goods' protection…."

"You call this a master plan?" Batgirl frowned. "This is senseless mayhem! You put so many lives in danger and filled a good number of your own goons with Clayface's formula…and for what? They're instant pudding, Dent! Good job!"

"Only the lackeys are, Batbrat…," Two-Face hissed and gestured towards the grinning guards flanking him. "These elites…however…got the cream of the crop."

Batgirl bore a strange face. "Wh-What?"

"Don't mind their silent treatment," Two-Face flipped his coin and hoarsely narrated. "We had to temporarily sacrifice their vocal cords."

"What in God's name for?"

Two-Face's normal eye squinted. "For ripping you trapped vigilantes to shreds, of course…."

The guards disposed of their guns. Cl-Clank! Clank!

"……," Batgirl blinked.

They grinned and stepped forward. Suddenly, their entire upper bodies turned to a brown sheen. Their forearms liquefied into slender, whipping tentacles. Sllpppp! In place of their hands, glinting metal axe heads appeared…glistening in the electric light. CHIIIING! CH-CHIIING!

Batgirl's jaw dropped. "Oh poo….."

"Enjoy being pieces, snookums…," Two-Face gestured.

The contorted, muddy faces of the thugs tensed. The tentacles twirled overhead and all converged on her with eight serrated blades of metal.

THWIIIISH! THWOOOOSH! SLASSSSH!

Batgirl gasped and jumped back.

CRRRKKK! CL-CLANG! Sparks flew as the metal axes contacted the floor.

Batgirl stepped backwards.

The half-mud golems snarled mutely, spun, and slashed at Batgirl from all angles.

TH-TH-THWISH! SL-SLASSSSSH!

Batgirl held her breath and backflipped out of the fray, twirling to avoid the slashing metal.

CL-CL-CLAAACK!

Batgirl landed in a crouch, wincing. She was graced under her left breast and along her right thigh. Some blood dripped as she stood up, batarangs fanning. CHIIIIING! "Nnnagh!" she clenched her teeth and launched the projectiles out.

TH-TH-TH-TH-THWISH! The projectiles severed five tentacles. SN-SN-SN-SN-SNP!

The muddy limbs plopped to the ground.

Batgirl watched as the 'thugs' merely walked forward, stepped on their own lost limbs, and sucked them back into their bodies. The severed tentacles reformed, producing an assortment of sharp axe heads, maces, and nightmarish drills.

Batgirl stepped back, wincing. "Double poo…."

TH-THWOMP! Nightwing suddenly landed beside her. "Nnngh!" He hopped up, clutching a shoulder. "Batgirl? We could REALLY use your help with Metallo right about now."

"Uhm….," Batgirl merely pointed.

"Huh?" Nightwing turned and looked at the half-morphs. "Oh, how pretty."

SLAAAASSSSH!

Batgirl shoved Nightwing out of the way. The two split up and dove in opposite directions as the bladed weapons landed and cracked the floor where they were standing.

Nightwing stood up, clubs raised.

Batgirl rolled into a kneeling position with a new fan of batarangs.

"Take your pick….," Two-Face growled. "Only I have the power to silence you!"

Two thugs went after Nightwing.

Two chose Batgirl.

Tentacles whipped in the air, divided into four per thug, and slashed dagger and mace ends at the two heroes. SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!

Nightwing defended with a flurry of his clubs. CL-CL-CL-CL-CLANG!

Batgirl acrobatically leapt, flipped, and jumped about to dodge the blows while tossing in a batarang now and then.

In the meantime, Robin and I continually converged on Metallo. He had both of his laser rifles protruding from his forearms and was firing madly at us.

ZAP! Z-ZAP! ZZZZAP!

Robin and I passed each other while circling Metallo and hopping, dodging, outrunning every blast we could. We finally froze on either side of him and blocked a laser blast at us each.

CLANG!

CL-CLACK!

The laser blasts bounced back and struck both Metallo's front and back. FLASH!

"Augh!" he jolted.

"Rrrraugh!" Robin dove in, swinging his staff overhead.

Metallo snarled and shot a hand up.

CLUTCH! Metallo gripped the Boy Wonder by the neck.

"Snkkktt!"

"What is it with you and your incessant habit of staying alive?" Metallo growled.

Robin struggled, but managed a grin. "What's to complain about, Corbin? Aren't you a little used to immortality?"

"Oh….PLEASE!" Metallo rolled his one good eye. "Eat my heart out!"

"I think I'll stick to first base," Robin's eyemask winked. He wrenched a hand to his utility belt, produced a vial, and dumped its contents onto Metallo's wrist. "Here's some purified acid for your tease!"

SSSSSSSSSSSsssssss! The outer metal frame of Metallo's forearm melted away.

"HA!" Metallo smirked and leaned his skull forward. "Like that's gonna really do any good…."

SWOOOOSH! I murkingly blurred up and flung my sword through his half-melted wrist. CRACK! Metallo's forearm severed. SNAP!

"Augh!" Metallo dropped Robin, stumbled back, and clutched his smoking stub. He frowned at me. "Damn you…."

I frowned at him and produced a black middle finger.

"Nnnnnrghh!" Metallo clenched his skeleton teeth and raised his stub of an arm to club me with.

TH-THWP! A taser cord lassoed around the exposed circuitry in Metallo's stub.

"Huh?"

Robin—on the other end of the taser cord—smirked and clicked a red button.

ZZZZZZZZZZZTTTTT!

Metallo jolted and convulsed all over from his arm straight to his core. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" He fell smoking to his knees. SL-SLUMP!

"From Edison with love, jerk!" Robin shouted.

"……..," I smiled.

In the meantime, Batman was giving Killer Croc a left and right hook. Thwap! SMACK!

"Hresshaa!" Killer Croc stumbled back, painfully shaking his head.

Panting…Batman stared over the reptilian mutant's shoulders.

The Dark Knight saw Nightwing and Batgirl tackling the unearthly thugs and their tentacled, muddy menace.

He frowned.

"I'm gonna skin ya alive, punk!" Killer Croc bloodily growled and gave a last death charge.

Batman reached into his utility belt.

Croc came upon him.

Batman gritted his teeth and shot his foot up, uppercutting Croc across the chin.

WHACK!

Croc jolted in place, stunned.

Batman's hand reached out, holding a grappling hook. He fired over Croc's shoulder. POW!

THWOOOOOSH!

The hook sailed through the air and landed across the vaults against the metal wall, just beneath the ceiling.

CL-CLANK!

Batman pressed the button, pulled on the slack, and thus propelled himself forward along the cord's length. He hooked an arm out and grabbed Croc by the chest.

SNATCH!

"Raaahh!" Croc shouted in surprise.

SWOOOOOOSH! Batman gritted his teeth, swung, and dragged Croc through the air. Right as he reached his cornered comrades, he let go of the grappling hook launcher, sailed down with Croc, and shoved him in mid-air with kicking feet into the metamorphing thugs.

WHAM! SP-SPLUTT!

Croc slammed through the tentacles of the clay golems. Half of them splattered across the floor as the mutant reptile-man tumbled cold to a stop. "Ughhh…."

Batgirl and Nightwing gave a thankful breath, smiling Batman's way.

"We're not out of the woods yet…," Batman pointed at the two remaining freaks.

"That's all you flew in to do? Hen peck us?" Nightwing readied his clubs and paced away from the two other tentacled beasts. "How about fighting alongside us for a change?"

"Less complaining and more whalloping," Batman frowned.

"Hehehe…," Batgirl readied batarangs and paced besides Nightwing. "He said 'whallop'."

"Another time, Batgirl…"

SL-SL-SL-SLASH! The tentacles came bearing down on them again.

The two younger heroes jumped back, avoiding the sharp serrated ends of the mud limbs.

Batman produced an ivory-plated batarang. He grunted and flung it into the muddy chest of one beast.

SPLORCH! Beep-Beep-Beep! FLASH! A white blast, and the muddy thug iced over with frost. It froze, tipped over, and shattered.

"Allright!" Nightwing beamed, blocking the blows from the last changeling. "Another one down!"

"For now," Batman pointed. The first two downed thugs were already beginning to solidify. "You deal with the last one while I—"

"Batman!" Robin ran up, shouting. "Look out!"

"?" Batman spun. He gasped.

Two-Face fired a pistol at the Dark Knight. BLAM!

Batman barely jerked to the side.

SLIIINK! The bullet grazed his side, spilling blood.

"Augh!" Batman hobbled.

Robin gasped, gritted his teeth, and ran towards Two-Face.

SL-SLOOOORCH! The two downed thugs suddenly morphed up and swung their entire torsos like huge blades at the Boy Wonder.

CL-CLANK!

CLACK!

The Boy Wonder gasped, jumping back from the swings.

Another 'blade' tentacle soared at him.

He tried blocking with a flimsy bo-staff.

SWOOOSH! I teleported and solidified in front of him with Myrkblade raised, smokingly serrated.

SPLOOOOOOOORCH! I divided the quivering mud tentacle in two so that it parted around Robin and I.

Robin took a breath. "Thanks." He produced two electrified discs which he promptly tossed around my body at the monstrosities.

SWISSSSSH!

TH-THUNK! ZZZZTT!

Robin tried running to Batman, but the second beast was promptly driving us both back with jabbing, slashing blades of axe-heads.

In the meantime, Batman gripped his bleeding side and winced.

Two-Face stepped in front of him, pistol smoking. "The same old bat as always….," Dent growled hoarsely. "Those dirty wings of yours can only keep you in the air for so long." CL-CLIK! He aimed the pistol at the Dark Knight's head. "Stick to the ground….six feet in the ground."

Batman grunted and tossed a batarang.

SW-SW-SW-SWISH!

A veteran Two-Face was already ducking. The batarang avoided his body completely.

But it gave Batman the second he needed to pull out a last grappling hook, aim at the far wall, and fire. POW! SWIIISH! CLANK!

Two-Face snarled and fired at the caped vigilante. BANG! BANG! BANG!

YANK! Batman soared through the air at the end of his grappling hook cord. Two-Face's bullets whizzed after his ankles.

Two-Face clenched his teeth, pulled out a second pistol, and dual-wielded…strafing to keep up with the flying Batman. BL-BLAM! BL-BLAM! BL-BLAM!

SWIIISSSH! WHIZZZ! THWISSH! Batman twirled and flew past the shots.

Two-Face paused, squinted his mutant eye, re-aimed, and—BLAM!

SWISSH! SN-SNAP! The single bullet broke the grappling cord along the wall.

"Unnngh!" Batman instantly fell. He landed in the jagged, metal rubble of the collapsed ceiling platform across the vaults. CR-CRASH!

Two-Face marched towards him, both guns tilted ceiling-ward and smoking.

"This was a loss for you and your crack-team from the beginning, Batsy!" Two-Face growled. He stepped up on a collapsed metal pylon and glared down at Batman. "You think you can finish off those four gifts from Clayface? Not in your life. Croc and Metallo, certainly. But as long as I see to it, none of you will survive your own ambush. You see….we weren't going to ship the goods until much later. We just wanted to call you out of the woodwork to finish you off. Then there'll be nothing to stop Triangular from a continental domination of every city in sight!"

"It's never that simple, D-Dent…," Batman stirred. He propped his back up against a collapsed platform and heaved, at gun-point. "….and you know that."

STOMP! Two-Face's foot clamped over the Dark Knight's ankle.

"Nnngh!" Batman winced. Teeth gritting…bleeding…

"I thought I knew a lot of things…," the mutated mafia boss sneered. "…but there's always more to learn. For instance, you're a lot weaker than I ever imagined, Batman." Both his eyes narrowed as he added through the corner of his curled lips: "…or should I say…Bruce?"

"………," Batman clenched his jaw. Eyeslits narrowed. "So you know…."

"Allow me the second or two to bask in the other hilarity of it all…," Two-Face hoarsely spoke. "….Harvey Dent's lifelong colleague and friend Bruce Wayne….is Batman. It's pathetically humorous and ironic at the same time."

"Why don't you show me your best laugh?"

"Not surprised, are you?"

"Are you?" Batman returned. "I figured Dagger would tell you eventually all he knew. And Dagger's proven to be a man who knows a lot, but only sparingly uses his godly knowledge…"

"He's surely opened the doors of Olympus to me, Brucey….," Two-Face spoke. "I consider this my pay off for busting my asses so much for the creep. He wouldn't share this secret with Luthor. But he would with me….I respect that."

"Really now?" Batman tilted his head to the side. "What other secrets has he shared with you, Two-Face?"

"Nnnngh….."

"How about exactly what he was going to do with this shipment of the girl's essences once my team and I were finished?" Batman asked. "Certainly he told you that…."

"My lips are sealed…," Two-Face's eyes narrowed. "All four of them!"

"You're not being very fair, Harvey…."

"Since we're on a first-name basis now, Bruce….allow me the honor of killing you."

"Not without me telling you one last….secret."

"And just what's that?"

Batman frowned further. "Dagger has only one reason for sharing any 'special' information with his cohorts. And that's if he expects them to lose at the hands of the enemy."

"You sniveling clown!" Cl-Clik! Two-Face leaned till he was face to face with Batman and aimed the pistols squarely into his chest. "How can you possibly get out of this one? You're at your last breath!"

Batman's lips curved ever so slightly in the corner. "And here it comes…." He shouted: "Jericho! NOW!"

And Batman's eyeslits strobed a bright EMERALD.

-CONTACT

FLASSSSH!

A green figure of spectral energy floated from the Dark Knight into Two-Face's body.

"Nrghh!" the mafia boss jolted. His eyes flashed green and melted back to normal. Then they widened as he gasped. "Wh-What…..?" Clak! Clank! He dropped his pistols and looked at his hands helplessly. "Wh-Wh-What's happening to m-me?"

"Dig into him, Jericho!" Batman growled.

"NnnnnNNNGRAAAAAAHH!" Two-Face twitched and jolted back. He gripped his skull and writhed…..writhed…. "RAAAAAAAAUGH! NNNGHHH! M-MY HEAD! IT'S….IT'S RIPPING APART FROM THE INSIDES!"

Batman stood back up with no effort whatsoever, fists clenched. "Dig into him! Find out the secret!"

"Nnnnghh! Auugh! RAAAAUGH!" Two-Face fell onto the ground, convulsing. Eyes bulging. Breath heaving. "N-NO! Get out of me…..GET OUT OF ME!"

"Find out what Triangular's doing!"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

On the other side of the vaults….

I could barely register Two-Face's tortured screams. Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl and I were busy with the muddied golems—all four of whom had recovered from their splattered and icy fates and were surrounding us. Robin and I formed the outer shell, protecting Nightwing and Batgirl with our bludgeons while the other two desperately flung the very last of their projectiles into the muddy mass of tentacles.

SL-SLASH! SLASH! TH-THWPP!

CL-CL-CL-CLANG! CRACK!

SW-SW-SW-SWISH! TH-THUNK!

Batgirl clenched her teeth. "I-I'm almost out of batarangs!"

Robin grunted and slapped back tentacle after tentacle.

Smoke billowed out from under my shades as I struggled and slashed lightning fast at all the attacking limbs.

"Whatever your smoking gun is, Batman, better make it quick!" Nightwing sweated.

Back at the metal pile, Two-Face was still twitching all over.

Batman stood over him, shouting firmly: "Now, Jericho! You must get the answer now!"

"Nnnnnnghhh!" Two-Face sweated profusely, hyperventilating. Convulsing and gripping his skull. "N-No! I-I won't! I WON'T TELL YOU!"

"It's now or never!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAAAAAAAUGH!" Two-Face howled, his mutant eyes streaming tears that he would never leak in real life. He looked at the four of us battling the clay beasts. He twitched. He gritted his teeth till the calcium nearly cracked…..and then with a groan, his eyes rolled back. He jerked a hand to his pocket and pulled out a device.

Batman started, nearly pouncing on the body. But at the last second he decided not to, because--

SWOOSH! Two-Face's limp arm aimed a high-tech pistol of sorts at the four of us. Rather….at the monsters around us.

WRIIIII-IIIII-IIIII-IIIII!

A high powered, sonic blast emanated from the device…converging on the monsters.

Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin and I flinched, clutching at our ears in momentary pain.

"Nnngh!"

"Augh!"

WRIIII-IIII-III-IIIII!

The waves vibrated at our skin, swam around us, and impacted the four henchmen. Their muddy tentacles warbled and shrank back into their brown torsos. Muddy drops splattered all around as the cluster of freaks shook, shivered, and fell to the metal floor all at once.

PLOP! PL-PL-PLOP!

We watched, panting.

The muddy monsters twitched…convulsed…and solidified into the four thugs. The metamorph power left them, and they were down for the count.

CRACK! The sonic device shattered as Two-Face's fist numbly fell to the floor. He let out a lasting groan, and was silent. Still.

"…………….," Batman took a deep breath.

Robin, Batgirl, and Nightwing stood at ease. Breathing easier.

"The sonic device…," Batgirl rubbed her head. "It….It stopped them!"

"Didn't Two-Face say that only he had the power to silence the thugs?"

"Heh…go figure," Robin shrugged.

I whistled and pointed.

Everyone looked.

Metallo was standing up, still twitching from eletical sparks. He glared at us…then grinned. "Ha ha ha ha ha! Ohhhhh….man! Not even Clayface can save the day! God, I'm loving Triangular by the second!"

Robin pointed with a frown: "Give it up, Corbin! The party's over—"

"Oh please, Bird Boy…you make me laugh…," Metallo walked over and scooped up Killer Croc's unconscious body. "Call me next time you die and are reborn. I could care less about the damned vials."

Batgirl gasped. "Look out! He's going to—"

"Too late!" Metallo cackled. PHFTOOOOOO! His ankle rockets exploded and propelled him upward. "Hahahaha! Flying the concrete skies!" He aimed a laser rifle out of his wrist upward and blew a hole through the metal ceiling of the vaults. He soared up and flew an exit through the shell of the Wayne Corp. skyscraper.

"Dammit! Dammit all!" Nightwing shouted and kicked at the metal floor. He then glanced nonchalantly at the sixty-plus bodies of unconscious, defeated thugs and recovered golden vials. "Hrmm…..okay. Maybe it's not so bad…."

Robin sighed. "I'd call it a victory." He turned around, smiling. "You did great, Noir." A beat. He raised an eyebrow. "Noir?"

I was running over to Batman. I panted and knelt besides Two-Face's body. CHIIING! I sheathed Myrkblade and desperately shook the crook's form. Biting my lip. Mutely pleading. I looked helplessly up at Batman.

"Shhh….," the Dark Knight softly uttered. "Give him time…."

"…..," I nervously shifted in place, looking down at Two-Face's body.

Waiting.

………..

Two-Face twitched.

My heart jumped.

FL-FLASH!

In a green glow, the body of Jericho solidified—trembling—besides Two-Face. He let out a breathy moan and fell back.

I swiftly caught him and gently held him from behind.

Jericho shook his head and rubbed it, wincing. His little green eyes were thin.

I smiled breathily and patted his shoulder, glancing at him face-to-face.

He looked at me, managed a weak smile, and nodded as if to say 'okay'.

Batman tilted his head forward. "You did good, Jericho. Perfectly as we planned…."

Jericho gulped and merely shuddered. He looked at the indoor 'battledfield' and bit his lip.

I gave him a brotherly hug from behind. He leaned back against me and relaxed, taking a breath.

The other heroes walked over and gathered around us, silently drinking in the quiet aftershocks….

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

Outside the front steps of Wayne Manor, the police had not only squad cars but huge prison vans and shipping trucks swarming the night-lit street under a drowning barrage of police lights and floodlamps.

Special medical teams from both Gotham Labs and the Gotham department of S.T.A.R. Labs were there to treat the dozens of defeated guards whose bodies still consisted of a great deal of Clayface's formula. Two-Face himself was taken in a straight-jacket to a special ambulance with the words 'Arkham Asylum' splashed across it. He seemed busily twitching and mumbling incoherently.

"Wowsers!" Bullock stood in the middle of the street, literally directing traffic as criminals and forklifts of golden vials were hoisted and moved every which way. "This is like a law enforcement jackpot! Keep it moving, people! Let's get this trash out of here before the flippin' media shows up!"

"Relax, Harvey…," Montoya drifted by with two handcuffed thugs groaning from their battle wounds. She winked at him and smirked; "Sit back. Have a donut."

"……..," Bullock blinked unbelievingly at her. "Heh…," he scratched his head and smiled. "Guess tonight is a victory, eh?" He turned. He frowned and shouted: "HEY! YOU! BE CAREFUL WITH THOSE VIALS! BATMAN SAYS THEY'RE IMPORTANT!"

In the meantime, on the far side of the scene, Commissioner Gordon stood beneath a single street lamp. Seemingly by himself. He dug his hands into the pockets of his long brown coat and spoke to the air: "This is absolutely incredible! You're telling me that you've been hiding out all this time solely in preparation for what appears to be the biggest anti-criminal sting operation in Gotham City history?"

A pair of eyeslits glistened in the shadows. Sporting impromptu bandages wrapped around his ribs and standing in the dark, Batman uttered: "Harvey Dent is part of a trifold criminal organization known as Triangular. Dagger—who launched the attack on the Titans' City November Fourth—is the ring leader of the group. The other partner is none other than Lex Luthor. A study of those vials and the materials shipping them should prove that."

"Lex Luthor….wow….," Gordon ran a hand through his gray hair without turning back to look at Batman. "After all these years, we finally get some dirt to throw at that creep. Heh…never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Believe it, Jim…," Batman's voice said. "This may very well be the first in a long line of clues that'll eventually explained all the slaughter that's plagued this seaboard, including Vegas."

"I really look forward to that. Hey Batman? Next time you want to take an extended vacation like you just did….heh….that's fine by me."

"Don't be so hasty…," Batman said. His shadowed cowl tilted aside. "Did you get those files from the Mad Hatter's lair?"

"That I did. But don't bother. I was pretty much sure Noir wasn't as he seemed. He fought with you just tonight, didn't he?"

"Yes. He was invaluable."

"Go figure. The media can be so cynical these days. I do my best to make sure Barbara and I are never around a t.v. if we can help it."

"Soon after this, I'll be contacting the Justice League. It's high time I filled them in on the recent situation. For a while, it was too dangerous even to inform them."

"Now what about these vials?" Gordon pointed. "I know they point to Luthor and all…but what's so special about them anyways?"

"They constitute a dangerous weapon of geothermal proportions. If it's possible, I would like a sample of some to study in the Batcave's labs. I need to trace every iota of evidence there is to get from this ambush."

"Batman…you more than have it. All of Gotham City's going to be in debt to you. Bruce Wayne especially!"

"That reminds me. Make sure Two-Face is well treated in Arkham."

"Why's that?"

"He suffered a terrible, mental collapse in the middle of our battle in the vaults. Psychologically, he's a complete…utter mess right now. I doubt he remembers anything about what happened here….much less anything about who he is, for that matter."

"I guess he'll be sharing a room with Dr. Crane then. The Scarecrow's been out of it ever since we recovered him from the zeppelin crash. Kinda tragic what's happening to these villains. But at the same time, the sour side of me wants to say 'just desserts', ya know?"

"Don't feed that side of you, Jim," Batman said. A slight curve of the lips. "At least….not too much."

"Heheh….I hear ya…," he turned. "Ya know, Batman, I've been too busy with these latest investigations myself. I suggest we both take breaks of our own. Heck, I haven't seen Barbara in weeks!" A pause. The elderly commissioner blinked. "Batman?"

The shadowed buildingside was bear.

"Heh…..up to his old tricks," Gordon shrugged and walked away….towards the thick of the crime scene.

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

Three blocks away from Wayne Corp….

Crowds walking the nightly sidewalks could see the spotlights and twirling siren strobes of the thick cluster of police cars and prison vans. A helicopter was already hovering overhead, observing the scene between skyscrapers.

Dick Grayson straddled a lazily idling motorcycle at the opening of an alleyway. He was in a leather jacket, black shirt, and black jeans. His wavy, Nightwing hair was slicked back and hung behind him. With heavy blue eyes, he glared at the sight. Taking a deep breath.

"…….."

Suddenly, a female figure sat on the backseat of the bike behind him. A pair of arms softly hugged him from behind. "Guess who?"

Dick blinked. "Babs?"

"Hehehehe…," Barbara Gordon tossed her red hair and winked at him. "So what's this about you giving me a gentlemanly ride home?"

Dick squinted at her over his shoulder. Amused, he smirked. "I didn't say anything about—"

"Oh Dick….you really are an idiot, aren't you?" she smirked.

"……," he rolled his eyes. "God…what's with you lately?"

She shrugged. "I'm happy to have the family back together…..in a sense."

"What? You mean me and Tim? Not getting empty Robin's nest syndrome, are you?"

"Heh….not exactly…," she toyed with a lock of his black hair. "But 'empty' is a good start."

"…..," he smiled. "Want me to give you a ride home?"

"Dick! I thought you'd never ask! After all…a girl's feet do get tired."

"Yeah….," he revved the engine. Vrmm! Vrmmm! "Especially with you sailing them into Metallo's butt a few times."

"Hehehe…I thought he'd never go down."

"Robin and Noir are trying to make the job easier for us. I think I know how Batman feels!"

"Ah….heaven forbid."

"Oh yeah…right," Dick cleared his throat and did away with the kickstand. He brought the bike out into the street. "You know that….I don't 'do' helmets….right?"

Barbara hugged his waste for support. "I think I can trust ya…for once."

"Allrighty then."

VRMMMMM!

Their hair flickered as he drove them quickly down the street and away from the fight scene for good.

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

In a dining room at Wayne Manor, Robin stood before a stretch of curtained windows.

He spun around and smiled. "It stopped snowing. I take that as a good sign."

Alfred was pouring glasses full of root beer at the table where Jericho and I sat. "El Nino is in effect, Master Tim?"

"Heh…yeah…sure, Alfred," Robin walked over and folded his arms. "Ah…the sweet taste of victory."

Jericho giggled breathily.

I smirked at him. Like Robin, I too was still dressed sweatily in my scuffed-up outfit. I gestured: 'A triumph worthy both of Titans and bats.'

"Yeah…but not the Justice League."

I chuckled breathily.

Jericho gestured: 'Does this make me a Titan now?'

"Pfft…so eager," Robin rolled his eyes under his mask. He nodded a 'thank you' to Alfred and took a glass of root beer. "Joey…if I can come back from the dead, surely you can become a Titan…even at your age."

Jericho smiled proudly.

'Besides, you earned it,' I gestured.

"Indeed," Robin nodded.

"I assume you're all having an intelligent conversation," Alfred stood back and suppressed a smirk. "And not making jokes about me."

'Colonel Mustard! In the drawing room! With the wrench!'

Jericho shook again with mute giggles.

I smirked and took my own glass.

Robin raised his: "To the Titans! Vicariously kicking butt in Gotham City!"

Jericho raised his glass.

So did I.

Alfred shrugged and saluted.

And we all drank….root beer.

After a good chugging…

"Ahhh…," Robin sighed. God, he looked so happy. "You know…," he broadly smiled. "This makes me miss the pizza place in the center of our Town all the more."

I nodded whole heartedly. I placed my glass down: 'Anytime now, Robin. I am waiting for your cue. We can return.'

"Yes….we can do that…," Robin nodded as the warm thought washed over him. "We can…….finally return."

Silence.

It was then and there that I noticed how sad Jericho was looking. His green eyes rested on the table.

I looked at him sideways. I again gestured: 'Something is troubling you?'

He bit his lip. He hesitantly hand-signed: 'I am glad to have been of assistance, but I am somewhat disappointed. Disappointed and worried.'

"……"

'I did not get to see my father. Not once.'

I nodded. I made sure Robin could see me as I hand-signed: 'Red Aviary did not show up. Not once.'

"Were you ever going to share with us what you shared with Batman?" Robin asked Jericho.

The little blonde kid looked at Robin. He gestured: 'Triangular was planning to ship the vials of Terra's essences to Titan's Tower.'

Robin's lips parted.

I leaned my head to the side, curiously.

Jericho went on: 'I guess somehow, the stuff being at Wayne Corp. would allow that to happen.'

"God…that's scary…," Robin said.

I looked at him.

He looked back at me and said: "You ever wondered how the Tower and the Titans' team got its funding for all its material and utilities, Noir? Well now you can know. The City hasn't been funding us all this time. It's been Bruce."

I took a deep breath. Jeez……that makes complete sense now.

"Silas Stone—Cyborg's father—built the Tower for other purposes. Raven, Cyborg, and I just refitted it before Beast Boy and Starfire joined the group. And Bruce Wayne—with all his billions—supplied the team with what made the Titans' infrastructure tick. Heh….guess having a former sidekick of his lead the team does wonders, huh?"

I smirked and nodded.

Jericho gestured: 'The vaults of Wayne Corp.'s basement must have been where the utilities that went to the Tower started. Some team—working secretly for Bruce Wayne—would then ship the stuff covertly from there to the Titans' Tower.'

I nodded and hand-signed: 'And the same thing was going to happen with Terra's vials.'

"Dagger never expected his November Fourth invasion to take over our City at all…," Robin uttered. He clenched his teeth and tightened his fists, nearly breaking the glass of root beer he held. "It was all a god damn distraction. All those hundreds of innocent lives lost at the Titans' hands….and just to keep us busy while he stole Terra, took her to Area 51, and forged from her an arsenal for the true invasion of our City. All the while using Red Aviary as both his bane AND his cover…."

"How utterly horrible…," Alfred scowled.

I took a deep breath. Gazing through the table. I thought to myself…

Only……

That bane of Dagger and bane of US didn't show this evening.

Red Aviary wasn't there at the vaults.

Or……w-was he?

Suddenly…

ZAAAT!

"M-My word!" Alfred jumped back.

The Messenger appeared in the corner. And he looked desperate. His face was stricken with a breathless panic that I've rarely seen in the asian teen.

I immediately stood up.

"M-Messenger?" Robin stammered. "What is—"

"Where is everyone?" the Messenger hotly demanded. "Where're Batman and his team?"

"……," Robin and I exchanged glances.

I shrugged.

The Boy Wonder looked at our visitor. "M-Most of us are here. Bruce Wayen's heading back. Barbara and Dick are—"

The Messenger rushed over and gripped Robin's shoulders. "Call them! Get them here! Get everyone together and safe! NOW!"

"Messenger? What's wrong?" Robin dropped his root beer and gripped our friend's hand.

The Messenger gritted his teeth: "It's Deathstroke! I know where he is now!"

"Do you? Well clue us in!" Robin frowned. "He didn't freakin' show up at all to take me and Noir out the whole damn night!"

"That's because he isn't out to get you right now! He never killed Noir, remember? He still isn't strong enough!"

My jaw dropped.

Jericho blinked, confused.

"Then….Th-Then….," Robin stammered. "Who is he after--?"

"I said CALL EVERYONE TOGETHER!" the Messenger shouted. "NOW!"

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

Hckkkkk-Clik-Clik-Clik-Clik!

Amidst a cloud of red streams, Dick and Barbara walk from his motorcycle to the front steps of her apartment building. They pause on the steps, looking at each other. Dick has his hands in his pockets. Barbara's wrists cling together behind her skirt.

"Here's looking at you, kid…"

"Hehehehe……wow. You made a joke."

"Yeah, I guess I did."

Snkkkkkt! Clik-Clik-Clik-Hckkkk-Clik-Clik-Clik!

"You know……you were really great this evening."

"Yeah……ahem……I thought so too."

"Ohhh……Dick! Big head as always."

"And look at you. I've never seen you smile this much in—"

"A long, long time."

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

Dick scratched the back of his head. He took a long, mellow sigh. "Yeah…..a long, long time…."

Barbara's eyes averted towards the side.

"…..ya know….Babs…."

"Yes, Dick?"

He gazed off absent-mindedly. "You and me…..we were never…"

"Never what?"

"…….," he glanced at her. He smiled. "We were never available much."

"You think that changed any?" she winked. "You've got that Blockhead in Bludhaven to worry about…"

"Blockbuster," he grunted.

"Whoever."

"And here you are swinging around with Batman all the time," He said. "Sometimes I feel…"

"What? Jealous?"

Dick did a double-take. "You're one to jump to conclusions, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "That's the gymnast in me."

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Y-Yeah…."

Silence.

"I…..I really like this…."

"Basking in the afterglow of a good, old-fashioned throttling of crime?" Barbara shrugged. "Who doesn't?"

"No….," he took a step closer to her. "This….."

She gazed up at him, lips parted.

"Barbara….," he nervously scratched beneath his ear. "I-I know I'm not really much of a Casanova….and I can be really full of myself and into my career and stuff…..but…..yeah….b-being with the 'family' again and having a chance to see you in action and just how much you've grown and how much smartness you put into your talents and all, it….I-I guess it makes me want tommmmfffff!" His blue eyes bulged.

She was leaning up on her toes, kissing him. Red lips to his. She gently stroked his shoulder and leaned back. "You were saying?"

"……," he blinked. "….damn hacker, you…." He smiled. "Encrypted the words right out of my mouth!"

"Hehehe…ewwww…is that a 'nerd' joke?"

"I'd knew you'd like it!"

She punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! That hurts now!"

"I'm glad!" she stuck a tongue out and giggled.

He smiled, his cheeks a little red.

She sighed. She twiddled her thumbs and glanced aside, cheeks red too. "You think you might….I dunno…" She glanced up at him with pensive blue eyes. "….be free again sometime soon? I mean…battling BlockParty has gotta be time consuming."

"Funny thing just happened."

"What's that?"

He winked and hugged her. "A weekend just opened up."

"Ohhh…Dick…," she squeezed him back and said against his chest. "How long from now?"

"Haven't decided yet."

"Oh, you!"

She shoved him away.

He chuckled. "I'll call you tomorrow."

"Not tonight?"

"Fine. Tonight," he saluted and walked back to his bike. "We'll chat till we can't keep our eyes open. It'll be like the old days!"

She cupped her hands over her lips as their distance grew. "At least this time we don't have Statistics Honors to flunk because of it!"

"Yeah! Or World Economics!"

"You said it was Calculus!"

"That was the old Dick!" Vrmm! Vrmm! "And the old Dick was a liar!" SCREEECH! Vrmmmmmm!

She waved as he left. "The old Dick was a dick….," she smilingly murmured. She took a deep breath, turned around, and walked into the apartment lobby.

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

Barbara Gordon reached the door to her apartment.

She reached into a small purse and produced a key.

She fit it to the keyhole.

She paused.

"……….."

She darted her head aside.

She looked down the right end of the hallway.

Nothing……

"………."

She glanced down the left end.

Emptiness……

"………."

She shuddered.

She shook it off.

She inserted the key.

Twisted it.

And opened the door.

Creeeeak.

Some mail deposited through the small door slot rested on the welcome mat.

She knelt down with a breath and scooped them up.

She shuffled them against her tummy.

"DSL bill….heheh…great…."

She walked into her apartment, slipping her shoes off in the process.

She closed the door.

She turned around to face it.

She locked the door.

She slid a bolt shut.

She fastened a latch-key—

KL-KLAK!

PLANT!

Barbara gasped.

The mail dropped to the floor between her ankles.

The barrel of a shotgun was pressed against the back of her head.

"Hckkkkk……clik-clik-clik……"

Red smoke billowed out around her.

A mist of breath left her shivering lips.

Wide-eyed, she glanced right and saw the blazing red-eye of Deathstroke's cowl.

"Aaa-!" he breath was cut short by a metal and flesh hand cupping gnarledly over her mouth.

"Hcckkkk……Batgirrrrrrrl….snkkkttt!" Slade hissed into her ear. "Or ssssshould I say-clik-clik-clik-kkt……ORACLE?"

Barbara shivered. Sweat ran down her brow and froze into red drops from the cold vapors billowing from his cowl's slits.

"You'rrrrre a terrrrible vigilantttte to have letttt me ssssneak up on you….," Slade hissed. "I'm beginning to thinkkkk-Hckkkk!—that a computer hacccker is a better career choicccce for you…."

Barbara whimpered as the barrel of the shotgun traveled down the back of her body.

It stopped right at the base of her spine.

"But that'sssss a job you that can takkkkke sssssitting down…."

BLAMMMM!

Barbara would have screamed if she felt the pain.