"Yo, Leo!" Cyborg shouted as the bike carrying Leo pulled over.
Leo pulled off his helmet and said, looking at what Cyborg was carrying, "It seems you were able to beat him on your own."
"Not exactly," Robin said.
"What do you mean?"
"We didn't beat him. Someone helped us."
Leo blinked, "Well, that should explain this busted fire hydrant," Leo pointed.
The fire hydrant was indeed broken and spilling water out the sides. This was getting stranger and stranger and Robin was going to get to the bottom of this.
The 'Man in Black' watched from the shadows of an alley before disappearing entirely into the darkness.
"Um…we didn't order dessert," Tara said, confused.
"It's complimentary, Tara," Kat responded before rushing back into the kitchen.
Beast Boy picked up his fork and knife and cut into the pie, saying, "Wonder what's with her?"
Tara shrugged, "Don't know." She put the bit of pie into her mouth and chewed. "This is good…"
"But, it tastes familiar," Beast Boy commented.
"It's from Ben's Diner," Tara clarified.
"Yes, it's from-" a beat. "Wait, how'd you know about Ben's?"
"Let's help!" Kat slid the Change Suzaku card into her belt. "Henshin!"
"CHANGE SUZAKU!"
Leo followed and did the same, "Henshin!"
"CHANGE SEIRYU!"
Mimic fired with her bow an arrow of fire as Draco unleashed a lightning bolt from his sword. Both attacks hit the Beast Spirit and sent it sprawling. The new Advent Knight looked to them before turning his attention back to the Scorpion Beast Spirit that was getting up. He drew two cards and slashed them through, activating their properties.
"BITE! BLIZZARD!" The staff announced, "BLIZZARD CRASH!"
The mysterious Advent Knight jumped up and unleashed the Blizzard Polar card's power, literally putting the Scorpion Beast Spirit on ice, before executing his scissor kick that smashed into it and sent it flying, the ice shattering off. With the Beast Spirit being defeated, he drew a card and threw it at it. It got sucked in and sealed before the card flew back into his hand. He slid it into his card holder.
Draco and Mimic approached him and Draco kindly said, "You must be the new Knight we've been hearing about. I'm Draco, Advent Knight of Seiryu."
"And I'm Mimic, Advent Knight of Suzaku," Mimic introduced herself.
"Shadow," the Advent Knight introduced himself, "Advent Knight of Genbu."
"Well then, welcome-" But Draco didn't finish as Shadow kicked him square in the chest, shocking him and Mimic.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Mimic demanded before a fist collided with her head. Shadow then swung his staff into her stomach, taking the wind out of her.
"Give me all your cards," Shadow calmly demanded as he went into a battle stance.
Episode 9: Poison
Mimic was in battle, but not with an evil Beast Spirit. Oh no. This time, she was fighting another Advent Knight and it wasn't her brother.
It was the Advent Knight of Genbu known as Shadow.
Whoever this Shadow was, he had royally pissed off the Advent Knight of Suzaku and she demanded satisfaction.
The Suzaku Arrow's sharp blades swung down upon the staff wielding Shadow but he was able to block with the length of his weapon before spinning his staff around to throw Mimic's weapon into the air. Shocked, Mimic looked up at her flying weapon. This was a mistake as Shadow struck with his staff.
Right into her visor.
Ouch.
Sparks flew on impact and Mimic was sent sailing and slammed against a cage. She slid down, disoriented.
"Onee-chan!" Draco yelled in worry and then his worry turned to rage. In his hand was his communicator with the antenna flashing. Clipping the device to his belt, he drew his sword and spoke, "Nobody, but nobody, attacks and hurts my onee-chan like that!" With a battle cry, he rushed towards Shadow.
Sparks flew as they parried, blocked and countered with their weapons. Draco might have been good with a sword but Shadow revealed that he possessed expertise in using his battle staff. He knocked Draco back with the snakehead end of his staff before swinging it up to slash Draco over the chestplate with the sharp tip of the turtle end. He then slapped Draco in the face with his staff before going into a reverse roundhouse kick that sent Draco back a few steps. Draco thought, 'He's tough!'
"I won't ask again!" Shadow said. "Give me your cards, now!" he repeated his demand, more forcefully now. He ran towards Draco but the Knight of Seiryu pushed him back with a powerful gale. Shadow stabbed his staff into the ground to maintain his footing and balance.
Hearing a loud screech of rage, Draco turned his attention towards his sister. Her visor was glowing and so were her hands! Both her hands, fingers curled up into claws, were glowing brightly. Her right hand was glowing red and her left one was glowing blue. She was going to use her ice and fire powers.
"EAT FLAME!" Mimic yelled out as she unleashed a stream of fire. Shadow snapped his fingers and a nearby water hose came to life. It sprayed out water and completely blocked out Mimic's fire attack. Mimic's eyes widened before she narrowed them in anger. The water was still spraying as she still put on the flames. She changed tactics and decided to use ice, this time freezing the water. "Hah! I've got a lot of surprise up my sleeves!" she said confidently. Summoning her Suzaku Arrow, with the card reader attached, she drew a card from her belt and slashed it. "VINE!" The vines unleashed themselves from her weapon and wrapped around Shadow, who didn't seem to care to make any effort to move. Draco noticed this, but was shaken out of his thoughts when his sister yelled, "Otouto-chan! Take him out!"
"H-hai!" Draco nodded. He spread out his cards and chose two. He didn't want to do this since he vowed to only use his abilities to protect people, but Shadow right now seemed like a threat. He had no choice and slashed the two cards through. "KICK! THUNDER!" the sword announced. "LIGHTNING BLAST!" Powering up, he stabbed his sword into a ground leapt up. His extended right foot crackled with energy as he performed his electrified flying kick. Adding his own electrical powers into the attack, if it hit, then Shadow was done for.
Shadow sighed and snapped his fingers. The vines, much to Mimic's shock, unraveled from him and wrapped around her instead.
"Hey!" Mimic exclaimed. She then witnessed as Shadow drew two cards as well and slashed them through the snakehead ornament on his staff. She wanted to shout out at her brother, but it was too late.
"POISON! STAB!" the staff announced. As Draco came down with his kick, Shadow pointed up with his staff. The tip of Shadow's staff made contact with Draco's chest before the Knight of Genbu spun Draco around and smashed him into a nearby drinking fountain, smashing it to pieces. Draco grunted as he writhed on the ground. He didn't look so good.
"Otouto-chan!" Mimic yelled out as the vines around her disappeared and ran to her twin brother. She touched his chestplate and shouted out, "What's wrong?"
"Onee-chan!" he yelled out, in pain, "It hurts! It hurts!"
"Otouto-chan!" Mimic yelled out before she glared at Shadow.
Shadow shrugged and said, "My staff injected poison into him, thanks to my cards. You better hurry. Sometimes, if the person is unlucky, the poison's effect can be…instantaneous." Mimic hissed. Shadow then heard footsteps. "Hm, interlopers," he said. "Well now, I should be going. Goodnight." He drew a card and slashed it. "SMOG!" A thick and dark smog cloud appeared that cloaked him from sight. When it subsided, he was gone.
Draco's transformation had cancelled out as his belt buckle closed and ejected the card. The armor was removed from him via the same energy field that implemented it. Mimic was still in her armor and holding onto her brother, letting him rest his head on her lap. Mimic had on idea what to do. He was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. "Otouto-chan…otouto-chan…Leo! Don't die on me!" she cried. "Don't you dare die on me, baka!"
The Titans had gotten a distress signal from one of their communicators earlier and followed it to the zoo but arrived too late. Robin kneeled down and asked, "What happened?" He looked down at Leo. His condition was worsening.
"He got poisoned…" Mimic spoke with immense hatred in her voice, "By Shadow…"
Hearing this, Raven grew shock. Shadow? But didn't he help her the other day? Was he really an enemy?
Cyborg did a scan over Leo's body and said, "It looks like scorpion poison, but not anything I've ever seen before."
"It was from a Rouge Card used to seal the Scorpion Beast Spirit," Mimic told him.
"Will friend Leo be okay?" Starfire asked.
"Can't say," Cyborg said, shaking his head.
Starfire whimpered in fear. She said to Raven, "Can you not heal him, Raven?" Raven shook her head.
"My powers only works on wounds, not poisons," she said dejectedly.
"Hold him, onegai," Mimic pleaded as she allowed Leo to rest his head on Robin's lap. Mimic stood up, holding tightly to her Suzaku Arrow bow blade and drew a card. "Let's pray to Kami-sama that this works," she muttered to herself. She slashed the card through. "RECOVER!" she then aimed her weapon at her brother's form. "Don't move."
"What are you doing!?" Robin shouted in shock.
"Just trust me," Mimic said as she fired. The energy arrow pierced through Leo's heart. This would've killed anyone, but not in this case. For some reason, his body glowed white for a second before turning back to normal. His breathing had gone back to normal as was his heartbeat.
"How?" Robin asked. The other Titans looked at her with the same question too.
Mimic said, "Here," and gave the card she had used to Robin. It was her Category 9 of Hearts: Recover Camel. As the name implied, it had the image of a camel on it. Robin blinked at it. It looked weird but its powers were amazing. Kat de-transformed and explained, "Sealed that Beast Spirit back in Tokyo 4 months ago. However, the Beast Spirit inside had almost nothing to do with healing others. It could, of course, heal itself which made it hard to seal. My otouto-chan and I had to work together to bring it down and seal it. So far, when I've used it, it heals me. This is the first time I've used it on anyone but myself."
Cyborg scanned Leo. To his surprise, just like Kat had said, he was healed and the poison was gone!
"Woah, and all that from a card," Cyborg said, impressed.
"Let's get him to the Tower," Robin recommended. Kat looked at him and he said, "Look, even if he's healed and the poison is out of him, he still needs to be checked. Our equipment is state of the art so don't worry, okay?"
"Arigatou, Boy Blunder," she grinned. Robin groaned. She then asked, "Could you take my otouto-chan's bike with you too?"
"Okay," Robin turned to Starfire and asked, "Starfire, could you carry Leo's bike to the Tower. Kat blinked at this and Robin clarified for her, "Starfire's stronger than she looks."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Kat crossed her arms in skepticism and furrowed her brows. She then sighed. "I'll come too. He's my otouto-chan and I need to make sure that he'll be fine."
"Alright, you win," Robin said.
"Yo Tin-Man!" Kat shouted at Cyborg who was carrying Leo bridal style. "Take care of my otouto-chan, okay?"
Cyborg grinned and winked. "You got it." He walked back to the T-Car parked outside the zoo while Starfire flew after him.
Kat's attention turned to Raven, "Hey, Blackbird, what's with you?"
Raven looked at Kat, raising an eyebrow at the nickname, and said, "I just can't believe that Shadow would do this."
"I thought you weren't the type to trust people so easily," Kat quirked an eyebrow, "Why are you suddenly defending this Shadow guy?"
"He saved those people from that Polar Bear Beast Spirit the other day and I think he helped us against Overload too."
"What makes you so sure?"
"His aura was around the hydrant that he used to blast Overload with."
Kat closed her eyes and put a cigarette into her mouth. She lit it with her finger and blew out a puff of smoke. "So? As far as I'm concerned he hurt my otouto-chan and I won't rest till I find him and give him a piece of my mind." She then noticed Robin looking at her. "What?"
"You shouldn't smoke," he advised. Kat took the cigarette out of her mouth and sighed.
"Alright, alright," she said, irritated. She put it out and then incinerated it completely. "Kami, you're as bad as my otouto-chan."
"Good then," Robin smirked. Kat scowled. "Let's go."
Kat and Robin walked to the gate, leaving Raven with her thoughts. Robin then called, "Hey Raven, you coming?"
"Yeah, sure," Raven responded and followed after them.
Shadow de-transformed as the green energy field stripped the armor off him. He then pocketed his Advent Buckle and walked down the street. He was in the bad part of town with all the gangs, drug addicts and muggers. He was soon surrounded by three gangsters who looked like they wanted to have some fun with him. They each brandished a different weapon. One had a length of chain he was twirling around, another had a knife and the last had a lead pipe.
"Give us your money and we promise to let you off easy," one of them said, grinning evilly. The Man in Black just sighed. He took out his wallet. The gang member smiled. "Good, we understand each other."
"How about we make this game a little more interesting?" the Shadow said as he looked at the gang members from behind his bangs. He threw his wallet into the air.
"Hey! What's the big-Oof!" The unlucky gang member was kicked hard in the stomach before Shadow kicked up and his heel met with his chin. The gang member dropped his knife and fell unconscious.
The gang member with the chain threw it at Shadow, but the unarmored Knight of Genbu lifted up his forearm and the chain wrapped around it. The gang grinned and gave a tug, but Shadow was tougher than he looked and pulled harder. The gang member's face met with the sole of Shadow's shoe. He fainted.
The third gang member tried to sneak up on Shadow, but then met the back of his fist. He too fell like his partners. Shadow then opened his hand as his wallet fell back into it before he put it back into his pocket. He stepped over the gang members and went his merry way.
He passed by an alley and heard a voice, "Impressive. Of course, those men were nothing." Shadow stopped in his tracks and looked at the darkness in the alley.
"Who are you?" Shadow asked. "Show yourself," he demanded.
The owner of the voice stepped out of the alley. He was taller than Shadow by quite a bit and was quite muscular as evident by his tight black bodysuit. His suit had armor plating on his shoulders, arms and legs. He had a metal neck guard and a belt with various pouched around his waist. What was most distinctive of this person was his half orange and half black mask which only had one eye slot.
Yes, this man was Slade.
"I am called by many names, but please call me Slade," Slade introduced himself. "And you are…"
"My true name is of no importance," Shadow answered curtly, "But for the sake of conversation, the name Shadow should suffice."
"Shadow, is it? Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, my boy," Slade said, his lips under his mask curling into a smirk.
Shadow frowned and looked Slade in the eye. His bangs moved a bit to reveal that he had red eyes. "I would say the same but I don't know you that well," he responded truthfully.
"Well, how about we get to know each other then?" Slade offered.
"Sorry, but I'm a bit busy," Shadow responded swiftly before walking away, "Goodnight, Mr. Slade." Suddenly, Shadow leapt into the air. He was reacting to a sneak attack from Slade who had just used a roundhouse kick. Shadow then landed behind Slade. If he was angry, he didn't show it. "Attacking from behind?"
Slade regained his composure and turned to face the black clad teenager, "You seemed to be very gifted, Shadow. You were able to dodge that move quite easily." Shadow didn't respond. "I could use someone like you under my wing."
"Sorry," Shadow apologized, "But I have more pressing matters to attend to."
"You mean like sealing the Beast Spirits for example?" Slade asked a rhetorical question. Shadow's red eyes widened with surprise from behind his bangs. "Don't be surprised my dear boy. There is nothing in this city I do not know. Let's just say I have eyes and ears everywhere."
"What is it you want, Mr. Slade?" Shadow asked, keeping his agitation in check.
"Nothing much," Slade shrugged. "I just thought we could help each other."
"Not interested."
"Well then, I can wait. I'll see you soon, Shadow," Slade said before he disappeared into the darkness as if he was never there. A card fell to Shadow's feet. He picked it up. He was tempted to tear it to pieces upon seeing what was written but pocketed it instead.
This game was going to be quite interesting…
The Titans arrived back at the Tower and to their surprise saw Beast Boy in his dog form curled up on the couch and whimpering sadly.
"Hey, what happened?" Kat asked the changeling. "What happened with your date?"
Beast Boy turned back to his human form and said, "Terra…she remembers…"
(Somewhere in Japan…)
The Bat Beast Spirit was shot repeatedly in the chest and fell against the cavern walls. A card then stuck to its chest and sucked it in, sealing it. The card then flew back into its owner's hand. The card was marked Scope Bat.
The owner's visage was barely visible within the darkness of the cave. What was, however, evident were his two glowing white eyes. He then said, "Next stop, America." This had been spoken in Japanese.
A/N: Woah! What happened to Beast Boy and Tara's date? What does he mean that she remembers? What about Slade and why is he so interested in Shadow? Is Shadow friend or foe? Who's the guy at the end? So many questions and not enough answers.
Preview of the Next chap: Leo's resting in Titans Tower. Meanwhile, Kat is in school and confronts Tara. She wants to know the truth. Beast Spirits in triplicate attack the mall all of a sudden. Also, a new Knight shows up. What? Knight of Byakko?
Combos revealed:
Blizzard Crash
Used by: Shadow
Cards used: Bite Cobra and Blizzard Polar.
Lightning Blast
Used by: Draco
Cards used: Kick Locust and Thunder Deer.
Poison Stab
Used by: Shadow
Cards used: Poison Scorpion and Stab Bee
New card revealed: Recover Camel
Used by: Mimic