Cyborg stretched his neck to the left until he heard the crack and sighed in relief. It was strange for him to believe that it had been that hard to get a simple black Orchid from a hill in montana.
"Dude! It is a flower" Beastboy declared as he got off the ground and stared up at the top of the hill
"I know but we had to get it. Now we have to find a-"
"I swear if you say something like a leaf from the top of a tree somewhere in the deepest jungle, I'm gonna scream" Beastboy interrupted CY
"No, we have to get... a WILLING sample of a piece of Raven's soul self" Cy read outloud the last item from the list.
"How are we going to do that?" Beastboy asked after a while
"I don't know but we better get back to Jump and contact Robin" Cy told Beastboy as he began walking towards his car, while checking the time on his mechanical arm. Robin had told him they had a time limit and they only had a little over and hour before time was up.
"What about Starfire?" Beastboy asked as he got into the car and watched as Cy put the Blackest Orchid on the planet in a glass cylinder then put it in the back seat with the rest of the stuff.
"She said she would contact us the moment she made re-entry so we can't do anything but wait" Cy explained as he began to drive towards his destination
"Think we will make it in time?" Beastboy asked as he starred ahead at the moving scenery in front of them
"We have to or who knows what will happen" Cy said as his face turned into one of worry and a bit of fear.
The two were in their own world for a while before beastboy decided to ask the question that was on both of their minds
"Is this what being a hero is like?" Beastboy asked in a whistful tone as he turned to look at Cy
"We knew it wasn't gonna be a walk in the park. It might get worse later on but its what we wanted to do and why we are in JL high in the first place. One thing I know for sure man is that being a hero is going to whatever lengths to selflessly serve another humanbeing in the hopes of creating a better world for others to live in. No matter what comes our way, we heros sure as hell aren't gonna back down"
"Yeah!" Beastboy exclaimed as he fistpumped with new found thrill for his future
"Now let's get going" Cy declared with a smile full of hope and fierce determination.
Thank you father Cy thanked in his mind to his deceased police officer father, who had been the one to speak those words to him as a boy.
~####~
Robin walked as quietly as a shadow in the night. His mask had a night vision feature built in which helped him not be noticed. There were many tunnels branching off the main tunnel but he knew that his best bet was to keep to the main tunnel. There was this nagging in the back of his mind that something was not right. As he contemplated what could possibly be at the end of the tunnel the floor suddenly open under him.
Robin landed in what looked like a dark narrow hallway with no way out but forward. He knew it was a trap meant to kill him but he had no other choice. Taking a ball out of his utility belt, he threw it and hoped he was wrong about the trap. As the ball hit giant rectangular stone sections of the wall came out and vine like things tried to tie the ball to them. The only way through would be for him to be fast enough to avoid the stones.
He took a couple of deep breaths and closed his eyes for a moment, then he opened his eyes and ran into the trap.
~#####~
Raven panted as she picked herself off the ground and wiped the blood off her mouth. A growl came from her throat as frustration began to take hold of her. Bruises lined her arms and legs with cuts scattered here and there. Her uniform was torn so she pulled off her hood since there was almost nothing left.
"Robin you better hurry up and get those ingredients together" Raven whispered as she watched as Lust took to the skies and unleashed an unearthly howl.
"You can not win my dear Raven" Lust bellowed into the winds in a demonic voice
"Raven you must not let her suck any of us in" Intelligence told Raven as the other emotions ran past her
"Oh great more to add to the plate"Raven said as she rose into the air as her hands became engulfed in a ball of black energy.
"Do not forget that you must send out your soul self to Robin for him to take a piece from your willing soul." intelligence reminded Raven as she guided the other emotions away to a safe location so Lust could not get to them.
"YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Raven yelled as she shot beams of black energy at Lust and created a barrier behind the emotions so Lust could not reach them.
"I need a vacation from all of you" Raven whispered to herself as she stopped shooting at lust and flew at high speeds towards her.
~#####~
Robin was panting as he held his shoulder that had been hit by one of the stones.
"I am losing my edge" Robin said to himself as he leaned against the wall at the end of the hall.
"Time is running out for you" Red X's voice filled the hall and caused Robin to stand up in a defensive position.
"Where are you coward?" Robin asked to no where in particular
"come and find me" RedX taunted as a door appeared out of nowhere to Robin's right
"I'm coming for you Raven" Robin whispered as he stepped through the door cautiously
On the other side he came to a dimly lit circular room with no exit but where he had come from.
"Well we meet again" RedX said as he stepped out of the shadows
"We end this now RedX" Robin declared as he took out his bo staff
"In a hurry are we?" Red X asked though he knew well how much longer before sunset
Robin gripped his staff tighter and knew Red X was only stalling.
"Enough stalling Red X you aren't going to get away with this" Robin spoke as he tried to think of a way to get Red X to tell him where Raven was.
"Oh but I already have, don't you see? Once we get the last item on our list and Micheal is bonded with Raven then we will be able to rip away her powers. Then this world will see the dawn of a new era." Red X said as he took out a bo staff similar to Robin's
Robin's teeth grinded together as he heard Red X say those words. There was no way he could allow that to happen to Raven.
Red X gave Robin an invitaion to take the first strike but when he saw that Robin only stood in a ready position he decided to lunge. Red X brought his staff over his head to strike but Robin blocked the attack easily and effectively.
Robin realized then and there that Red X was nothing more than a simple street fighter with no real foundation behind his attacks. This new found information he could use to his favor but for now he would dance with Red X.
"You don't seem to have much training do you?" Robin asked as their staffs met and they both came face to face
"What's it to you pretty boy?" Red X asked a little irritated that he mentioned his fighting style
"Nothing, I just expected more since you're all talk but it looks like you have no bite" Robin taunted as he swung his staff at Red X's legs.
Red X jumped up and over Robin turning and swinging his staff at Robin's head but Robin leaned back just in time to have the staff graze his nose. Red X stepped back and looked at Robin as he rightened himself. It was obvious to him that he wouldn't be able to beat Robin but maybe he could get him to drop his guard.
"You know Robin, once we have Raven's powers Micheal is going to take Raven as his wife." Red X told Robin as he circled around the room looking for an opening.
"Not while I'm still breathing" Robin hissed as he kept his defenses up
"Well I'm so glad you feel that way because we were planning on killing you first" Red X said as he brought his staff around to strike Robin's legs out from under him but Robin brought his staff down and blocked the attack. With a swift twirl of his staff Robin knocked Red X's bo staff out of his hands and pointed his own staff at Red X's throat.
"Where is she?" Robin demanded in a low growl
"Well I would love to tell you but I'm afraid you have to go on a little trip" Red X said as he stepped back
"What-"
"Now Micheal!" Red X shouted as he quickly disappeared into the shadows
The ground began to shake and suddenly it opened up and swallowed Robin up.
"Let's see you get out of there Boy Wonder" Red X said as he watched the earth close up where Robin had stood seconds before.
"How are we suppose to get Raven's soul self sample now?" Micheal asked as he paced irritatedly around the room
"We have all the time in the world lil bro. With birdy boy gone there is no one left to get in our way" Red X answered as he took off his mask to reveal his growing smirk of triumph.