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It was as though they were trying to occupy the same space. Or at least she was, perpetually splaying herself across him no matter what endeavor he was attempting, her voice a soft and sibilant constant in his ear. Delicate fingers would trace faded scars with a morbid fascination, occasionally diving for more tender spots, or gliding over firm muscles. She fiercely claimed the seat next to him, twining her slender legs with his, but spreading out and lying across his lap when there was room enough. Her body was always pressed to his, eager for his touch and the friction created when she rubbed against him. Heat danced between them, a spark to a dried grasslands that consumed her entire body and flowed into his. A predatory gleam filled her eyes and she always seemed to be licking her lips, her hunger evident. When she wasn't licking her luscious lips, she was scraping her teeth against her full bottom one, her eyes distant as she imagined some torrid coupling.
While she certainly was the instigator of all the sessions of heavy petting, she was definitely not the only participant. An unfocused sort of smile would stretch across his face and his claws would sweep along her smooth flesh, eliciting sharp gasps and coos from her. A mischievous spark, one with a different sense to it than usual, leapt into his eyes when she was about and he was eager to touch her, to rub his palms against whatever bare skin she presented, which was considerable given her preference for the sun's touch. Sometimes bite marks and small discolored patterns would mar her otherwise lustrous skin, but receive no explanation beyond a satisfied smirk and a conspiratorial wink. As they sat together, he pulled her close to him, eager to swap body heat and feel her pressed against him. Her touch could dredge forth guttural growls and snarls from him, but the only threat they presented was if she ceased in her enticing attentions. His eyes would turn a deeper green, reaching into something primordial and basic, when things became intense and the pair would disappear shortly afterwards, sometimes for hours on end, when he got like that.
Eddie watched the entire thing with rapt fascination over the course of several days, mystified by the strange dance of affections between the elder members of the team. For a time, Rose enjoyed in joining him in the studies, but she sought to take it a step further. She sought to observe more than just the little games that they played in open sight, but continual failure at such attempts had ultimately discouraged her and cut the short wick of her temper. More often than before, she would head outside or to the roof where she could smoke without agitating Gar's sensitive nose and incurring one of his rants on the numerous evils of the habit. Feeling particularly brave and familiar with the movie that Gar was using to naturalize Blackfire to Earth culture, the red boy waited for a minute before trailing after the silver-haired girl. Attired in a simple brown hoodie and dark athletic shorts, which he had modified to make an allowance for his tail, he ascended the stairs that led to the roof, whistling a random note at each step, stringing together a melody-less tune. Coming to a halt in front of the door that opened onto the roof, his sinuous tail whipped about before curling around the doorknob and twisting it. He gave a bodily oomph as an unexpected weight toppled into him and the sudden surprise sent him crashing to the floor where he found himself staring into a single, cerulean eye. As it met his yellowed gaze, the surprise fled, chased away by annoyance but he was rather comfortably distracted by the pressure against his chest and further south.
Rose pushed herself up, perching upon his abdomen. Attired in a purple shirt with blue sweatpants, her taut midriff was left exposed and Kid Devil's eyes focused hungrily there. She scowled at him around the unlit cigarette in her mouth as she demanded, "Are you following me?"
"J-just wanted to make sure you're doing all right," he gave a shaky grin as he propped himself up on his elbows.
"I'm perfectly dandy," she growled.
"Yeah, I can see that," he mumbled and shrinking away slightly as her eye narrowed. Averting his eyes away for a moment, he requested, "Do you think you could get off?"
She regarded him for a second, her gaze pensive before she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Make me."
He rolled his eyes, "Come on, get off."
"No."
Furrowing his brow, he rolled himself upward to toss her off, but as his back came off the ground, her toned legs encircled his waist and twisted him back onto the floor. At his somewhat astounded expression, she grinned victoriously and tucked a silvery strand of hair behind her ear, though it quickly fell back out of place. Focusing again, he tried to roll himself up, but was ready this time when Rose tried to use his own momentum against him. Overpowering her, he kneeled with her legs still hooked about him, her back now on the floor. While it had lost its victorious gleam, her grin persisted even as she brought her arms up in a defensive barrier. He posted an arm by her shoulder while his other arm, in conjunction with his tail, sought to release the fierce clench she had secured about him with his waist. Suddenly, her hands grabbed his arm, her legs untwisted, and he was back on the floor, caught in an arm bar. She began to apply pressure, pressing his slim, muscular arm against her body and reveling in the firmness of it before he twisted about. Refusing to release the limb, she held it even as he pulled himself into a four point stance though after he dragged her so that they were grinning face to fierce face, the hold was pretty much useless for its original purpose.
"Wrestling at the top of the stairs really doesn't strike me as a good idea," he growled.
"You won't let me fall," she said, but there was a tone to it, something in the way she said it that gave him pause. A pause that she eagerly exploited, her legs hooking about his neck pulling her onto his back, bringing his arm with her. His face pressed against the ground; he gritted his teeth and his tail slithered up, wrapping about her lean abdomen and giving a sharp tug. Surprised by the strength in the prehensile appendage, she toppled backwards, her legs losing their hold as he jerked his chin forward, breaking the grip. Slipping out from under her, he whirled to face her and seized her shoulders, pushing her onto the ground as she tried to rise. Her eye turned distant as their momentum propelled them to the ground and a smirk played across her face as she set her feet in his stomach and launched him over her and into the wall. He grunted and slumped to the ground, flailing back to get into a defensible position but Rose was already upon him, turning him on end and holding him in a ball, her face inches from his. Mirth danced in her eye. "Sorry, I saw that coming. Oh, and I pinned ya."
"Like Hell," he seethed.
"Swear jar," she chimed with a laugh. He writhed in her grasp, struggling against her and driving them closer to the edge of the stairs, but her face was the only thing he could see, and she was too focused upon her quarry's struggle to notice. When they suddenly slipped over the cusp of the hard steps, they both gave involuntary yelps and Eddie wrapped his arms tight about Rose and twisted his body about, grunting as he bounced down the stairs.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow . . . ugh."
He groaned as they skidded to a halt on the next landing upon the steps, letting his head loll back as Rose peered up. Pain and pleasure swirled about inside him as she dragged herself along his body until her face hovered over his. Wincing, he opened a single eyelid to peer at her, somewhat astounded that she had managed to keep ahold of her cigarette, as she smiled down at him. A calloused hand captured his chin and she leaned in closer.
"Pinned ya again."
Both his eyes were wide open and unblinking as she neared him when her other hand suddenly compressed his chest and a small puff of fire inadvertently emerged from his mouth, sending the end of her cigarette blazing. With a satisfied chuckle, she sat up and rolled onto her feet, turning towards the stairs that led to the roof, and Eddie let his head fall back against the stone floor with a groan. His suffering was interrupted by Rose, her tone clipped.
"You going to just leave me like this all day?"
Cracking open an eye, he saw that the silver-haired girl was offering him a hand and while he was momentarily stunned by the gesture, he did not let it go to waste. Accepting her hand, he was quickly hauled to his feet, stumbling on them for a second before he stabilized himself. Pain arced through his back and he sucked in a breath of air as he grimaced and Rose studied him for a second before stepping closer and turning him about. His protests were cut short as she lifted his sweatshirt, surveying his back where bruises were already forming, taking on a rusty mix of red and brown.
"What a wimp. You bruise like an apple," she said, but it lacked the usual snide tone that accompanied her insults. An even more abrupt juxtaposition to her words were her cold fingers and tender touches, ghosting across his mottled skin. Her touch sent an entirely different sensation racing through his neurons, but she misunderstood the shudder that overtook his body, retracting her hands as though a serpent had lashed at her. Silence made the awkwardness more evident until Eddie realized that his sweatshirt was still pulled up and he jerked it down before turning to face Rose, speaking in a far softer voice than he intended.
"Yeah, well I'll let you take the fall next time."
She gave a nod though her eye was focused upon his taloned feet, her expression drawn and something that Eddie couldn't quite discern. He thought he saw the smallest of grins flash across her face, but it disappeared faster than he could blink. The silence between them became suffocating and Eddie decided that it was time to jump ship. Giving her a jerky nod and half a smile, he stuffed his hands in the pouch pocket and turned to head down the rest of the stairs when there was a sudden weight upon his back and slender arms about his neck. Arms windmilling, his tail lashed out to secure a hold upon the handrail and he managed to steady himself. His head whipped to the side to meet Rose's now fully smiling face, cigarette still in place, and he barked, "How many more flights do I have to fall down before you're happy?!"
"I'm getting bored here. Let's go out on the town," she suggested.
"What?"
"If I have to stay here for one more minute, I'm going to scream. And then stab something. Most likely repeatedly. So let's go do something," she urged, her eye narrowing to emphasize her point.
His mind drawing an unfortunate blank, Eddie could only ask, "Like what?"
Leaning her head back, she made a noise that was a fusion of a snarl and a groan before snapping her glare back to him, reminding him that any sort of gaze she employed was no less potent, regardless of the missing eye. She snapped, "I don't know, just something. Shit, I don't care if we just walk around. And I swear, if you say 'swear jar,' I'm going to take that tail of yours and ram it so far up where the sun don't shine, you're going to be backed up for the next two months."
Crimson skin paled into a dusky pink at the threat, more of a promise really, and he tripped over his words, "You – that, um – why – sounds like a sweet idea."
"Good boy," she patted his head condescendingly, still keeping one arm slung across her shoulders. When she didn't vacate his back and he could feel her glaring daggers into him again, he gave a sigh and began to traverse down the stairs, passenger content.
"So you really aren't able to wear shoes?" she pressed as they strolled down the sidewalk, drawing numerous stares even with his hood up. Civilians instinctively took cover at the sight of them; not necessarily because they were scared of them, but their appearance usually meant there was a threat in the immediate proximity. After realizing there was no such danger, they abandoned their cover, pretending they had not just dove behind a dumpster, and continued on their path. Several thanked them for what they had done and continued to do, mostly youths and children, but the majority of the passersby offered nothing more than a simple greeting.
"I tried to, for a while, but they always got shredded. Eventually I just gave up on it completely. My skin's thick enough that I can walk around without any sort of problem," he explained, "Until there's the whole 'no shoes, no service' thing. Most people are willing to reach an understanding."
"What do you do when they don't?" she asked before taking a drag from her newest cigarette since leaving the base. It had been lit, after numerous protests and even then still grudingly, by Eddie.
He shrugged, "Don't go there again."
"Really?" she arched the brow over her functioning eye at him. "I'd make a huge stink about it. Breathing fire, uprooting trees, punting puppies, threatening the positioning of their internal organs."
"I don't doubt it," he grinned, his eyes looking upward as he visualized the scene.
She socked him in the arm and directed a finger at him, "You're laughing at me."
"Of course not," he protested but his attempts at denying his mirth only caused it to erupt from his mouth and upset Rose further. Reaching over his horns, she dragged him into a headlock, but she was smiling even as he laughed more voraciously, attracting the attention of the others on the street. However, when a rumble shook the earth and lightning shot upward, attracted to lightning rods it passed and other conductors, everybody's attention took an abrupt shift. Rose and Eddie shared a glance before the former released him and they raced towards an alley that could take them to the next block. Daggers seemed to simply flash into existence in her hands, and he marveled at them, wondering where she had even stored them. She led the way and was the first to arrive on the scene, pushing through the civilians who fled the incident. Standing straight as he joined her, they found themselves staring at the pair of a boy and girl who couldn't have been much older than them.
Both were attired in dark, full body suits of a tough looking material decorated with geometric lines in bright colors, blue for the girl and yellow for the boy. The first of the pair was a head shorter than her partner and pale with bicolored, jagged hair that featured a natural blond color on the right and a cerulean shade on the other half. Slender with pleasing curves to her frame, the harsh scowl scrawled across her face detracted from her natural beauty. Electricity danced about her toned body, attracted to ports positioned along her suit, and she would intermittently release blasts of it into the sky and surrounding area, repeating the spectacle that they had witnessed from a block over. Seemingly unaffected by the cascade of bolts that sent the civilians scurrying, the boy beside her had a nearly identical suit aside from a large circle on his broad chest that projected blasts of rippling energy that cracked the pavement and shattered the glass windows of the empty cars. His face was stern but softer than hers, and his complexion was several shades darker. Stiff brown hair was cut in a fade away style, rising into a mohawk atop his head. He had a muscular but slim build though he was several inches taller than Eddie.
"All right. I'll take tall, dark, and loud. You handle little miss lightning lass," Rose directed, gesturing with her chin.
"Fun," he mumbled, but charged forward nevertheless, bounding off a car to leap towards the girl who seemed shocked by his sudden appearance.
"Alexei! They found us," she yelled before launching electricity from her fingertips at him. Her attempt failed as the electrical charge sought the easiest path and struck the grounded vehicles instead. The inferno that rolled from his mouth did not face the same detriment as her attack, and she brought her arms up in a futile attempt to ward off the searing heat. Landing amongst the flames, he lashed at her with the talons upon his strong fingers, but they bit into her suit without reaching to her skin. The force of the blow was enough to launch her into a car, creating a dent in the door, but she was up far faster than Eddie could anticipate. Her punch was strong though he'd been hit harder, but the charge of electricity that accompanied it momentarily stunned him and made up for the lack of power. She attacked with clinical precision, her eyes fierce, and Eddie knew that she was both familiar with combat and absolutely terrified of him.
Rose was faring significantly better. Her foe had turned at the call of the lightning girl, which opened him up to her attack, her first blade cutting into the suit and the latter reaching into his skin. He winced and a pulsating wave blasted from a disk upon his back, which was a mirror of the one on his front, but she ducked under it and swept his feet out from under him. A grunt escaped his mouth as he crashed to the ground, but when she leapt to attack him, he skillfully caught her in the gut and threw her over his head though she twisted in the air, landing upon her feet. Leaping forward as he rose to his feet, she ducked the blast fired from his chest and delivered a swift knee into his abdomen, knocking the breath out of his lungs. As he tried to suck air back into his lungs, she smashed her elbow into his neck and then delivered a kick that sent him sprawling upon his back once again. Circling about to avoid any attack from the panel on his chest, she placed her blades on his throat, but he lifted his arms to encourage her to stay her hand.
"Wait! My name is Alexei. We don't want to fight you!"
"Had me fooled," she scoffed, jerking her chin towards Eddie as he staggered away from the girl, managing to duck her strike and shove her away, sending her flying across the street and into a wall.
"Alya," he breathed before looking back to Rose, his eyes pleading, "Please, you have to understand that we are not your enemies. My sister and I didn't know how else to contact you or your friends."
She narrowed her eye, considering him before demanding, "Call off shocky there, and I might listen to you."
"Can you remove-"
"No."
He breathed out a large breath and his brow furrowed in a slight glare before he leaning his head back to call out, "Alya! Stop! They're not N.O.W.H.E.R.E., they're the ones we were looking for."
"What?" she spat, "Have you gone nuts? This one looks like the Devil thing the old ones talked about."
"Thanks for not stereotyping or anything," Eddie muttered.
"Stand down, Alya," stressed her brother. "They can help us."
"First there's the whole attacking the city thing we need to deal with," Rose reminded him. She slipped one of her daggers back into its hidden position within her pants and then dragged Alexei to his feet, twisting his arm behind his back and pressing a dagger to his throat. Her gaze was focused upon the girl who stepped forward, electricity coiling about her body as she snarled at her.
"Release my brother, you-"
"Save it. I've probably already heard it. Now why don't you come with us? It looks like we have a bit to talk about," she commanded. Reluctantly, her face still furious, Alya released her tight fists and the electricity ceased circuiting about her, but the tension had not entirely disappeared from her body.
"We will come peacefully. You don't have to hold a dagger to my throat," Alexei told Rose.
"Hmmm. Yeah, but no. A girl's gotta feel safe," she returned. Keeping him between her and the still seething Alya, she guided them towards a secluded alleyway, Eddie tagging along behind the lightning girl. Once there, she turned Alexei around and pushed him up against the wall, keeping the dagger to his throat and when Alya surged forward, Eddie grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from doing anything stupid.
"Hold up. Rose is just naturally tactless. She's not actually going to hurt your brother," he promised though he breathed to himself, "Hopefully."
"First off, what do you mean you were looking for us?" she began her interrogation.
"My sister and I – we were captives, experiments. They were transferring us, but something happened. It wrecked and we managed to escape. We saw your rescue of the people from those monsters on a television, and thought you could help us," he explained, holding his arms up and fingers uncurled to demonstrate his lack of ill intent.
"So you decided to start wrecking the place?" she pressed, eye narrowing.
"We didn't know how to reach you. We made sure that we didn't hurt anyone," he attested.
She scowled, "You didn't think about going to the police or something?"
"No. We couldn't do that. They – urgh – they're everywhere," he managed, pain suddenly twisting his face.
"His headaches. You need to let me help him," Alya demanded, a sharp glare snapping back towards Eddie who looked as though he were about to acquiesce.
"Stay there," the one-eyed girl instructed, her eye glancing over to her. A cry broke from Alexei's throat and he keeled over, clutching his forehead as Rose backed away, her other dagger leaping into her hand. Sparks arced across Alya's body and Eddie yelped, pulling his hand away, and she dashed to her brother side, grabbing his wrists and making soft shushing sounds. Rose frowned and advanced, opening her mouth to warn her away when a slim figure crashed into her, delivering a kick that knocked her to the ground. The shadowed figure turned to the startled pair of siblings and pointed down the alley, away from the Titans as Eddie helped Rose to her feet.
"Go!" the stranger instructed, "Get away from here. Find some place safe."
"If you go anywhere, I'm going to carve out all your organs and make you put them in alphabetical order. Right after I finish turning this asshat into ribbons," the silverette seethed as she launched herself forward, tackling the intruder. They rolled to the ground and Eddie started forward, keeping an eye upon the siblings though his gaze drifted towards Rose as she struggled with her foe. They were both on their feet again and trading blows, but neither of them could land a single strike as they weaved about each other. Rose was grace incarnate, innate aptitude compounded by over a decade of intense training, but she had found a partner worthy of joining her in the deadly dance. Slash, kick, duck, punch, twist, elbow, roll, throw, block, jump, dodge, stab, parry. With the shadows from the buildings' overhangs that dominated the alley and the perpetual flurry of combat, details were hard to make out between the combatants, but Eddie's eyes had been adapted for the darkness and he caught glimpses. A vicious smile stretching across Rose's face, metallic blades like feathers extending from a muscled arm, the flesh of a red suit. Tired of standing on the sideline, Eddie planted his feet and sucked in a breath as he called out a warning.
"Rose, move it!"
After a glance back to him and the warm glow that was starting to fill his mouth, she complied with the command, springing off the wall and flipping through the air as fire roared from Eddie's mouth, scorching the alley before him. Rose landed easily behind him, setting a hand on her hip and giving an appreciative whistle as she admired the blaze that blackened the walls and incinerated the rubbish. Tongues of flame leapt up the brick barriers that pressed in tight on both sides, and the conflagration roiled like some turbulent sea. Alya shielded her brother from the heat of the inferno, who was still crumpled upon the ground his mouth opened in a silent scream and hands to his head. There was the softest tap on the other side of the alley as something landed and Rose flowed from a turn into a throw of her knife that the dark-haired boy deflected with the mechanical wings affixed to his suit. He held up a hand, attempting to hold her off as he called out.
"Eddie?"
Abruptly closing his mouth and swallowing the rest of the inferno that was surging forth, the red-skinned boy turned in surprise, "Robin?"
"Red Robin now, but yeah," smiled the most recent protégé of the Batman. His black and red suit's thick armor, meant to resist small arms fire without hindering movement, did not disguise his athletic build. A black mask that conveyed a surprising array of emotions covered his eyes and Rose appreciatively appraised his handsome features. There was a pair of bandoliers that connected on his chest, lined with capsules, and a belt of heavy pouches was strung about his waist. Metal wings matched the crimson of his suit and mysteriously made no noise as he folded them behind his back and approached the horned boy who returned his smile. Tough black glove seized taloned hand and the two gave a hearty shake, pulling each other in for a thump on the back. Stepping back from each other, Red Robin winced as he apologized, "Sorry about all that. I didn't recognize you."
He waved it away, "Don't worry about it. I was the one that almost burnt your tail feathers to a crisp. Also, I have . . . changed a bit since the last time I saw you."
"No kidding," he gave a soft grin and chuckle.
"Hey, shouldn't that apology be coming to me?" Rose broke into the conversation.
"Oh, right. Ro – uh, Ravager, this is Red Robin. Red Robin, this is Ravager. She's my new teammate," Eddie explained.
"Rose Wilson. I've heard about you," he said, extending his hand to her.
"More like been warned about, I bet," she gave a knowing smile as she accepted his hand while Eddie picked up the dagger she had thrown.
There was the sense that he was looking away, "Ehehe, ummm. Anyway, what were you two doing with the two escapees there?"
After accepting her dagger from Eddie and returning it along with its mate to their positions, Rose jabbed a thumb back towards the still huddled pair. "You know these two?"
"Not personally. They're captives of an organization known as N.O.W.H.E.R.E. I managed to crack one of their broadcasts and found out that they were shipping something to here. Turns out that that 'something' was 'someones,' and they disappeared in the confusion," he gestured towards the pair, receiving a suspicious glare from Alya as she ran a soothing hand over Alexei's back.
"What's N.O.W.H.E.R.E.?" Rose demanded as Eddie opened his mouth to voice the same sentiment.
"Hell," Alexei gasped as the pain receded and his hands dropped. His breathing was still irregular and sweat ran so thickly from his hide that it looked as though he had just taken a dunk in the ocean. "They capture us, and change us. Steal our memories, and force us to fight. To kill. It is the only way to survive."
"Survive? No, my dear Alexei," a voice whispered from the shadows above them as they encroached about them and grew taller, growing deep and dark like the yawning mouth to the Pit. There was a chill to the voice, a sadistic, lilting tone devoid of any kindness and eager to inflict pain. A figure melted from the wall above them, a slender torso with glowing marks like the siblings' suits and bald head with hungry orange eyes that lacked any of the color's typical warmth.
"Shadow Walker," Alexei breathed, terror creeping into the eyes of both him and his sister. At the mention of his name, thin lips curled into a broad, cruel smile that had a predatory aspect to it.
"Killing is the only way to live," he sneered.
Happy Upcoming Halloween!
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, which focused on Eddie and Rose. It's been a while since we've read either of them (or at least Rose in a non-villainous role), but we hope their characterization has sated those who are familiar with them. I am introducing some New 52 stuff, hope that doesn't bother anybody too much. Oh, and we find out the conclusion of the late night meeting Gar and Blackfire held. Of sorts. No promises that they actually did anything major.
Also, if any of you, our treasured readers, want a better idea as to what Alexei, Alya, and Red Robin look like, pop on over to comicvine and search their names. The first two will pop up as Thunder and Lightning respectively.
As always, we want to thank everybody for the reveiws and request that you keep them coming. They keep the gerbils in the wheels of our heads running and the stories churning out. We need more reviews to produce the next chapter.