Chapter 6

Starfire loved the wind in her hair and warmth it brought to her face. They might have been heading toward a battle, but it was not without the feeling of joy compounded by the slight feeling of dread. There were usually a lot of people on the bridge and one wrong move on their part might result in injuries. She would do her best to watch and be mindful of her star bolts and hoped the others would do the same.

It didn't take much time to reach the bridge and see what the problem was.

Cinderblock had apparently escaped his imprisonment and was wreaking havoc.

Starfire made sure she paid close attention to Robin and his hand gestures. It would have been difficult to hear him from this distance, but they worked so well together that she knew what his raised fist meant. So, she stopped in her forward momentum and waited for his next orders.

"Titans our main focus is to stop Cinderblock before he destroys the bridge." He left his bike and took off his helmet. "Sasuke, I want you getting the civilians out of the way, while the rest of us take on Cinderblock. We've handled him before."

Starfire chanced a quick glance at Sasuke to gauge his reaction to being put on the sidelines.

His face was blank except for a slight frown marring his lips. He moved forward, however, and started pulling people from their cars to the safety of the road behind them.

Starfire was relieved that he didn't question the order, it would give the rest of the Titans more focus on their enemy instead of the people in the way.

"Titans go!" Robin commanded and charged forward with his Bo staff at the ready.

She flew toward Cinderblocks back so she could shoot her star bolts and try to distract him from the others. It worked and he turned to look at her before grabbing an empty car and throwing it at her, she dodged just barely missing the fender on the front.

By the time she was moving her attention back onto the battle Beast Boy had already moved into position in wolf form and quickly changed into a giant gorilla smashing his fists into Cinderblock's side. Robin attacked from the other side and between the two of them they were able to force the giant rock toward the other side of the road.

Cyborg jumped into the fray next and used his sonic cannon to blast Cinderblock directly on his chest pushing the giant rock back even further.

Raven was hovering slightly above where Starfire was watching for her own opening. Starfire wanted to get closer and use her fists against the beast, but her attention landed on Sasuke trying to get a woman and her child out from their vehicle too close to the mayhem for her own comfort. She was just about to fly down to help when a piece of debris flew into the car and caused it to catch fire.

Raven must have seen the problem as well for she wasted no time flying toward them with Starfire close on her heels.

Before they could reach to help, an explosion from the car had sent Sasuke flying over the bridge and into the water.

"No!" Starfire cried and flew over the side of the bridge hoping to catch him.

She watched as he flipped through the air and landed on the surface of the water, but he didn't sink like she expected.

He looked up while standing on the water and yelled at her. "I'm okay! Just go help the others!"

Starfire was so surprised, so hovered for a moment and then decided to listen to him. He didn't seem damaged and with his abilities she wasn't all that concerned about his safety down below.

The others had managed to maneuver Cinderblock to the other side of the bridge and were fighting him on solid ground now.

She moved to follow them and released more star bolts toward the rock beast's side causing him to release his hold on a wiggling Beast Boy that had somehow managed to get captured in his grip.

Raven used the opening that Starfire had given her and shot black tendrils of energy toward Cinderblock's other side causing him to stumble onto one knee.

Robin ran toward the rock's body and landed a direct round house kick to the side of his head, followed by a hit with his Bo staff to the other side of his head. His head whipped back, and he lost his balance falling onto his back.

Starfire landed next to the downed rock and punched him directly in the temple hoping to knock him out long enough for the police to arrive and take him back to jail. With the force behind her punch Cinderblock was out cold, there were small cracks appearing on his face from the strength behind her attack.

She didn't really want to hurt him, but he was endangering her friends and innocent people, she didn't regret his injury one bit. Perhaps that is the point Sasuke was trying to make to Robin when they were discussing the advantages of taking out their opponents for good. Starfire could almost see where Sasuke was coming from all the way up until death was on the table. She didn't believe in killing unless it was during times of war and even then, if she had the choice to save a person, enemy or not she would.

Robin walked up to Cinderblock and brought out his grabbling hook and set to tying the rock giant up. Once he was done, he walked over to Starfire and rested a hand on her shoulder.

She was so glad to have a friend like Robin, he must have noticed that her thoughts were else where and he was coming to check on her. She loved him so much; her heart was making leaps in her chest at the contact. They didn't often share much physical affection for each other, but Raven said that was normal for a guy like Robin. Who liked to keep to himself and only interact with people when he deemed it necessary.

"Are you okay Star?" His voice was clouded with concern.

She couldn't help but smile at him. "Yes, I'm quite well thank you, why do you ask?" She was genuinely curious what his answer would be. For she didn't suffer any injuries during the battle.

"I heard you scream earlier, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Oh, Starfire had almost forgotten about Sasuke.

"Yes, I'm okay, I was worried about Sasuke, he fell over the bridge, and I couldn't make it in time to stop it." She paused when Robin frowned and then quickly went to look over the bridge while firing off question after question.

"Is he okay? Did you see where he landed? What happened?"

She swallowed suddenly nervous. "Somehow, he landed on the water and was standing on it. He told me to go, that he was okay."

They both looked over the side of the bridge and tried to spot the Uchiha, but he was nowhere to be seen.

So, Robin shouted down to see if he could get a response. "Sasuke are you down there? I can send someone to come get you!"

There was only silence that greeted them.

"I'm going down there." Robin declared and readied his other grabbling hook.

"I can take you." Starfire said and held out a hand for him to take. She felt disappointed when he completely ignored her hand and grabbed ahold of the side of the bridge instead.

"No thanks Star, I need you up here until the police arrive just in case Cinderblock wakes up." With that he jumped over the railing and shot his hook to where it was wrapped around the rail supporting his weight as he descended.

Starfire watched him until he reached the bottom then headed over to make sure the giant rock creature was still down for the count. She couldn't shake the feeling of being disappointed that Robin hadn't taken her with him, or that he dismissed her so easily. They were very close friends and at one point she thought that maybe they could be more than just friends, but with his obvious detachment lately she wasn't quite sure what they were anymore. She would have to have a girl's night with Raven soon, so she could work out her feelings to her best friend. Until then she would focus on the task at hand and leave all thoughts of Robin behind.

He was put on civilian duty. Sasuke was annoyed but not surprised that Robin was keeping him out of the fight. It was still irksome. Sasuke could show restraint, if he couldn't do that much then what kind of ninja would he even be? Control was the number one thing hammered into him from the very beginning.

Robin didn't know that though, he was just a superhero and didn't possess any chakra or any other abilities besides hand-to-hand combat. Granted the kid was quite skilled but that wasn't the same as having a special ability. The other Titans were more likely to understand the need for constant control. Having abilities of their own.

It wasn't a problem though; Sasuke took his role seriously. He knew it would take some time for the Titans to trust him thoroughly, so he planned to act with determination.

Car after car he dragged people from, getting them to safety while the fight was happening all around him. He jumped from the hood of one car to get to the other side of the bridge where there was a woman who appeared trapped in her vehicle. When he was close enough to peer inside the window, he noticed there was a child in the back. He diverted his attention to the child first and then proceeded to grab the woman. Her seatbelt was stuck so Sasuke used a kunai to cut through the strap holding her down.

He saw the relief on her face and felt accomplished, his task was done however as he directed her towards the other civilians on the other side.

Debris from the fight hit the car on its side and an explosion pushed him over the edge of the bridge. There was heat and a moment of confusion before Sasuke righted himself to land on the surface of the water. He thought he had heard a yell from Starfire and looked up to see her flying toward him.

"I'm okay!" He shouted at her. "Just go help the others!"

She listened to him and flew back over the side of the bridge.

Sasuke sighed frustrated that he was going to find another way up when he noticed a figure bobbing along in the water. They appeared to be struggling so he moved quickly to aid them. He reached a hand toward them, and they grabbed him. The grip was strong and before Sasuke knew what was going on he was pulled underwater.

He activated his sharingan to better see in the murky water and tried to get the hand to release him by twisting his arm and wrist, but the grip was too strong as they pulled him to a vessel hovering under the water.

The top of the machine opened, and the guy swam into the hole it provided. The water receded from the small, cramped space allowing them to stand. Sasuke wasted no time throwing a punch in the man's face and following with a kick to his side. The grip on his wrist was finally released and Sasuke pressed his advantage throwing another punch aiming for the solar plexus this time. The man dodged at the last second and stumbled backwards until he was pressed against the side of the vessel.

"Slade a little help here!" he shouted toward the inner door.

There was a loud hiss as the door opened to reveal the inside of the under-water ship. It was more spacious than what Sasuke was expecting, one side was lined with several controls while the other was lined with chairs with straps attached to them. It was an interesting ship; one Sasuke had never been on before.

There was a figure sitting in front of the controls with his back to them. He turned in his seat and that's when Sasuke noticed the mask he was wearing. Orange on one side and black on the other, only one eye was visible. He wore black clothing and black combat boots; he crossed his legs at the ankle and reclined into his chair.

"Sasuke it is good to finally meet you. I'm sorry our first meeting had to be this way, but with you hanging around the Titans all the time it was really the only way we could talk. Face to face that is." His tone was deep and held an edge of authority. He was an older man Sasuke would guess approaching his early 40s.

Sasuke remembered Robin mentioning this man a few times in retelling past events. His name appeared quite often actually. Every time he was a dangerous opponent for the Titans, so he knew he had to tread lightly here.

"I wasn't aware you were trying to meet with me. What do you want?"

"Ah yes, straight to the point I like that. Well, Sasuke the truth is I'm looking for a partner and I've heard that your skills would be a perfect match for what I had in mind." He paused and waved his hand toward the other figure standing next to Sasuke. "This here is Red X; I don't think you are yet acquainted. He is in my employment and you two would be working together if you chose to come to work for me. The difference being you would be my partner and my equal." Slade paused briefly before he continued.

"I can give you power and prestige, anything you could ever want could be yours." He paused again and cleared his throat. "Now I know this is a lot to think about, I can give you time before you give me your answer."

Sasuke scoffed at this guy internally. Slade had absolutely no clue what Sasuke wanted and for that matter the Titans didn't either. He wanted to go home, that was true enough, but his real purpose was to take out his older brother Itachi. Sasuke wouldn't be able to rest without the knowledge that his family's murderer was gone from this world… well not this world but his own world. And Slade could probably not get him any closer to his goal. He didn't want to make Slade his enemy because he honestly didn't care about his past with the Titans, but he also knew that the Titans were probably his best shot at getting back.

"Slade, was it?"

Slade nodded.

"I don't know you, and I don't know what kind of things you think I might want but my main objective is to go home. I don't belong here, and I have unfinished business elsewhere."

Slade uncrossed his legs and leaned forward in his chair. "What kind of unfinished business are you talking about?"

Sasuke hesitated; did he tell this person his mission? The only thing that kept him going day to day? It wasn't about trust, if that was the case, he would have already told Raven the truth. No, he didn't want to ruin this image the Titans had of him. Robin was a bit cautious about taking him on this mission, and Sasuke knew why. He thought about their earlier conversation about killing and knew that he had scared the poor teen with his answers. Sasuke didn't know why he wanted to maintain the lie that he was a decent person, he just did. If he sided with this Slade person, then all hope of the Titans helping him was void.

Decision made he met the eye of Slade. "Business that is my own. I want to go back now."

Slade chuckled. "If that is what you want then I just ask one thing of you. Just think about my offer and ask yourself the question if these teenagers can help you or if they are just telling you what you want to hear to keep you locked up in a cage."

Sasuke almost flinched at the word cage, but he held fast. Years of service to Orochimaru had done wonders for his nerves and he liked to think of them as steel. A simple word was not going to be enough to change his resolve. The Titans were his best bet.

"I must thank you for your time and send you on your way." Slade drawled and pressed a button on the console of the boat.

The door separating them was shut and water started to fill the enclosure. It was cold and rising too quickly.

Sasuke held his breath right before he was submerged and the door to the ceiling was opened allowing him to escape. He kicked upward forcing chakra into his feet allowing him to move quicker through the water. His lungs were burning, aching for air, so he forced his arms and legs to propel himself through the water that much quicker. When he reached the surface, he released his breath and started coughing.

That was too close for comfort, the vessel was lower than he had remembered, and the swim had almost killed him. Sasuke wondered briefly if that was the plan all along, but quickly shook that thought away. If that was the case, then Slade wouldn't have bothered to open the entrance in the first place.

"Sasuke!" Robin shouted from underneath the bridge waving his arms trying to get his attention. "Are you okay?"

Sasuke took a few more breaths before answering. "I'm okay I thought I saw something down below the surface. It must have been an animal."

He pumped chakra into his hands and feet and proceeded to pull himself from the water. Walking across the water he couldn't help but fight off a smirk as he watched Robin's face contort into awed fascination. Showing off something as simple as walking on water was surprisingly fun.

"Can you get up to the top by yourself?" Robin questioned.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course, go help your team I'll be fine."

Robin shrugged his shoulders then shot his grabbling hook into the side of the bridge and held on as he flew up to join his friends.

Sasuke hopped twice before he proceeded to run up the side to meet the rest of the Titans on the bridge. When he got there, he noticed that the battle was complete and there was nothing left for him to do. All the civilians were safe, the giant rock creature was subdued, and the Titans were heading back to their vehicles having already cleared everything else up with the police.

For a fleeting moment, he felt complete. His immediate concerns were taken care of, the only thing he wanted more than anything else was to get back to the tower, have a nice long soak in the bathtub and have an early night for bed. He would bring himself to worry about Slade and his cronies later. Right now, it was time to go home… well his temporary home.