DC Gothic – Red-X
Part 17
The Games Go On
Location Unknown
After breakfast I'd donned my mask and had decided to look around to see what I could find in this 'hotel' I'd found no exits, no boiler room, there wasn't even a janitor's closet. The only place of any importance I had been able to find was the manger's office, but that had been locked, this wouldn't normally stop me the but the Succubus at the front desk had found me fiddling with the door, and she'd threatened to devour my entrails in a way that sounded very serious so I'd left well enough alone.
While I'd found no place to sleep I discover that this place did have a gift shop, for some reason, and I since I had cash on me I'd been able to buy myself some books to read and they were weird because once I'd paid for them I'd found that they would shrink to a tiny size when you closed them and become huge again when opened. Which was actually kind of cool because they fitted into my pockets and didn't seem to weigh anything when small.
Now I, and lots of other people, were back in the conference room and the walls had become huge screens that showed the different fights going on somewhere else. Whoever was behind all of this had gone to great trouble to set all this up. They'd paid attention to details as such making sure there were hot drinks and snacks put out. Not that I ate or drank anything as I was keeping my mask on, but I thought it a nice touch.
On one screen someone called Kid Wicked, or Kyd Wykkyd according to the score board was fighting Beast Boy. Kyd was part of the H.I.V.E academy. Not that I'd ever seen him before, but the school could have taken on new students since I'd left or it could be that he hadn't worn the outfit he wore now until recently.
I watched as the masked criminal's fist meet Beast Boy's rib cage and Titan made an "Oof!" sound as he fell.
"That wasn't nice!" someone in the audience called out.
Beast Boy saw the next punch coming and morphed into a turtle. Then Kyd's fist connected with the rock-hard shell of the animal. That had to hurt.
The move gave Beast Boy enough time to transform and deliver a solid uppercut in his new gorilla form.
Kyd flew back and dropped to the ground, but then he stood up with no trouble. I had to wonder what sort of super powers the H.I.V.E student had.
I watched some more as Kyd flew at Beast Boy, who was still in gorilla form, and Kyd somehow tackled the Titan to the ground and started laying into Beast Boy. His punches came fast and furious, but a gorilla was a powerful creature and as one even Beastie Boy couldn't fail to defend himself from Kyd's attacks.
He threw Kyd off him, then transformed into a bull and charged at Kyd. Wykkyd, however, was not phased the least bit. He held his cape like he was a matador and just waited.
Beast Boy attempted to hit the evil teen, but each time they came close to impacting Kyd would sidestep using his cape as a distraction.
Finally Kyd decided to end the game and held his cape in front of him. Beast Boy charged with all his might, but Kyd didn't move a muscle. Foolish morality kicked in and Beastie Boy tried to halt his charge so he wouldn't kill Kyd, but he couldn't stop completely so he skidded into Kyd Wykkyd's cape and ended up getting the material wrapped his neck.
On another screen Mammoth, who I did know, and Cyborg, who I unfortunately did know, were just starting a fight. Mammoth had all the grace and subtly of a nuclear strike, as soon the bell went off he headed straight for Cyborg. But this time the direct approach seemed to pay off.
Mammoth punched Cyborg in the jaw so hard the the Titan actually span around before meeting the ropes of the boxing ring they'd been transported to. Their arena was different the one Beast Boy and Kyd were fighting, those two were a stadium of some sort.
On the screen I could see Cyborg's right arm change and become a cannon, somehow. The Titan took aim and fired the deadly weapon. Mammoth, who seemed to be in good form today, saw the blast coming and ducked beneath the blue beam. Then before the Titan could switch his arm back to normal Mammoth was on him. Cyborg was about to have a really bad day.
That was when I heard my three least favourite words in all of creation.
"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!"
Over on another screen Raven was fighting Jinx, which led me to conclude that I was would fight Robin, and that Blackfire would fight Starfire. But that was just a hunch.
"What's the matter, Ray-Ray?" Jinx taunted her foe. "Scared to face anyone hand-to-hand?"
Knowing that she could win at range my ex had decided to take on the Teen Titan up close. Jinx threw a swift punch at Raven's face which Raven dodged with ease, she must been trained in combat at some point, most likely by the Boy Wonder as he was, for all his faults, a good fighter.
However Ray-Ray wasn't that great at blocking as I discovered when Jinx's elbow met Raven's face, and I smiled as I saw that the part-demon had a nose bleed.
The Titan wasn't fighting very well, perhaps because of what I'd said to her earlier, and while I didn't enjoy watching anyone get hurt there was something satisfying about seeing Raven taken down a notch.
Jinx then introduced her knee to Raven's solar plexus. The emo heroine doubled over in pain and I started to remember why I'd always had a soft spot in my heart for the pinked haired girl.
Next Jinx grabbed Raven by her hair and held her head up.
"Nothing to say, Ray? Too bad" mocked Jinx
This was brutal but oddly arousing. I was going to have to talk to Jinx and see I could find a quiet stop later so we could relive some old memories.
To finish things Jinx slammed her foe's head into the ground of what I guessed to be a training mat since their arena was a dojo of sorts, and that brought the match to an end.
Since that screen was now off I diverted my attention back to the fight between Mammoth was Cyborg. I turned my head just in time to see Cy fire his arm cannon at Mammoth. The blast hit dead centre and Mammoth fell to the ground, apparently unconscious.
"Boyah!" the part robot shouted.
Then while striking a dramatic pose Cyborg blew away imaginary steam from the tip of his cannon-arm.
I then turned my head again as the screen that had been showing the fight between Raven and Jinx came back on. A new arena appeared, this one was nothing more then two small platforms high in the sky. On either one of those platforms stood Blackfire and Starfire.
When the bell rang, not that it was actual bell, the two alien princess started duking it out. Blackfire opened fire with her energy bolts before her sister even took off but despite the surprise Starfire was able to take to the air and dodge her sister's follow up attacks.
"This is it, Starry your going down" Blackfire said as she released two more beams of energy from her closed fists.
Their alliance seemed to be over. It hadn't last very long and that might be partly my fault.
"No!" replied Starfire "Victory shall be mine!"
Then Starfire threw two bolts of her star energy at her evil and insane sister, but Blackfire nimbly dodged them and I had to admit that for a crazy bitch the evil princess was very skilled in battle. Blackfire returned fire with a barrage of her own and soon Starfire was falling, I didn't know if there was any ground for her crash into but the rate she was falling we'd soon find out.
Blackfire began to pursue her falling sister, perhaps to end the fight all the more quickly, but seconds later, Starfire sharply veered to the left and began flying upwards
The older, and much sexier princess, at least in my view, recovered from what must been a feint of some kind just in time to dodge a kick from Starfire. Then the dark haired alien grabbed her sister's leg and span her sibling around before letting go. I got a little dizzy just from watching.
"Starfire!" Robin yelled out in fear from somewhere in the audience.
He need not have worried, Starfire was not in any real danger, at least not until Blackfire had her in a full nelson. Which given that they were flying in the air I felt it was an odd choice for a move.
Get off, you troq!" Starfire screamed as she struggled.
Then the older alien princess was able to slam the younger one into a platform, which despite being in the air seemed to be perfectly stable.
"No!" Robin cried out.
Starfire managed to stand, but she wasn't fast enough to avoid what came next. Blackfire's foot hit her stomach and launched her baby sister into the sky. But in midair, Starfire recovered and threw bolt after bolt at Blackfire keep her malevolent sibling at bay.
"Why must we fight, sister?!" Starfire called out.
Blackfire didn't answer she smartly focused on dodging the incoming fire and got close enough to strike her sister physically. Blackfire pulled no punches. A quick left jab stunned her sister and then a solid right hook sent the Teen Titan spinning through the air.
The younger alien recovered yet again, and then tried to reason with Blackfire, which was foolish.
"What. Did. I. Do?" Starfire asked.
"Nothing!" Blackfire shouted "I just want to win the prize!".
That was when something really odd happen it felt like I was being dragged somewhere and soon everything went dark.
(Line Break)
Location Unknown
The next thing I knew I was standing in what I guessed to be something like a holodex. The programme running made me think I was in a building that was only half way constructed. Parts of the floor was missing, and the outside of the building was all scaffolding. However there were no lose objects around like tools or building materials.
Also I was, as I predicted, fighting Robin who had started towards me only to impact with an invisible wall. If I had to guess I'd say that we were waiting for another fight to end before ours could start.
Not that we had to wait long as as soon as the bell rang, and this time the sound was more like a loud car horn, the wall vanished. Robin charged at me and before I could do more than mutter a swear word I was on the ground, and Robin's staff was pressing into my neck. I tried to push the staff off my neck, but that didn't help much, so I then lifted my knees until Robin's weight was shifted enough that he went over me and landed on his back.
Then I let go of the staff and quickly got to my feet. Which was good because the Boy Wonder was pissed and ready to do me some serious hurt. I didn't doubt that he was going to take out the frustration he felt for not being to help Starfire out on me, or at least he would attempt to.
Batman's former sidekick ran at me again, but this time my foot met his foot as he'd run into a well timed kicked. But to his credit the none super powered hero did not let the blow deter him. He might be as brutal as the thugs he fought, but unlike them he had incredible willpower.
Robin then made a jab at my midsection with the point of his staff, but I just teleported behind Robin and struck him at the base of his skull a closed fist. Robin fell to his knees and then tipped through the hole in the ground. Which could be lethal if he fell far.
I followed him and saw that he hadn't fallen enough to get hurt because that part of the floor had fallen down to the next level to make a sort of slide. I backed away then and waited for my foe to get back to his feet rather than kick a man when he was down. My good form was not appreciated by Bird Boy who just attacked again without much thought.
My next move was to jump above a low kick delivered by Robin, grab onto the metal pipe above me, and then kick him with both feet. That hurt the teenage hero, and I took the chance to kick Robin in the stomach, which once again caused him to drop to his knees.
I then kicked the little git in the stomach, and he rolled over, but still he was somehow able to get up again. The Bat had taught his student well, the old man's stubborn refusal to quit had been passed onto Tim Drake.
Still I needed to finish this so threw a punch, but Robin grabbed the hand and managed to throw me over his shoulder. I went with the fall and rolled so that I could recover fast.
Then when the Boy Blunder went to hit me again I grabbed Robin's hand and twisted it as my other hand met the ribs of the Teen Titan.
"Stay down" I ordered.
The kid was in no state to fight, mentally or physical, and while I could try to knock him out I was concerned that he'd just keep getting back up again until he could stand any more due to being dead.
It hurt my pride to do what I needed to do next, but I didn't care for some unknown prize, and maybe if I lost I'd be sent back to Earth.
"I quit" I said as I raised my hands.
Robin was under the impression I'd been talking to him.
"I'm not done with you, X!".
Since I had nothing more to say to this child I just repeated my statement and hoped someone was listening.
"I forfeit the match".
Still nothing happened.
"You heard me I quit" I said very firmly.
The third time was the charm and I felt that tugging sensation once more as I was transported away.
(Line Break)
Location Unknown
When the door to the hotel room open I saw Raven and was pleased that she looked healthy. Jinx had done a real number on her, the pink haired girl had been bragging about during dinner (which had been in the served in the canteen so I didn't have to cook) and annoyingly the H.I.V.E student had ignored me when I'd tried to talk her.
I got the impression that my refusal to beat Robin either to death or at least into a coma, hadn't gone down well with the other crooks.
Not that I cared about their opinions, the only thing I did care about was that I was being forced to beat someone else as apparently refusing to fight didn't get a person taken off the scoreboard
It just resulted in a draw that would led to both Robin and myself having to fight someone else. The rules for this messed up event were overly complex in my view.
"Red-X" said Raven as she sat down on the bed.
She was staying on her side I was glad to note, and she didn't seem to want to talk either. Which was just wonderful as I really didn't want to hear any whiny emo crap.
"Raven" I said without feeling.
Since I was reading, or at least trying to and while she didn't ask for a book I knew she'd want one so I open a tiny tome so that it grew in size and then passed it to her without even looking at what I was doing. She took the book, but wasn't very grateful.
"I don't like sci fi" Raven told me.
At first I wasn't going to answer, but I felt compelled to say something.
"Then mediate" was all that came out of my mouth.
If she attempted to or not I didn't know as I kept my eyes firmly on the pages in front of me. I'd taken off my mask as reading while wearing the skull face wasn't enjoyable even it was doable. I'd also taken my gloves and boots off so I could relax a little.
"Why did you forfeit your match with Robin?" Raven then asked of me.
Not wanting to talk I made a great effort to ignore her, but she didn't give up so easily.
"I'm talking to you" the part-demon then said.
My only action was to turn the page, not that I'd read the last one but I wanted to make it clear that I wasn't interested in chatting. However my plan failed when that weird dark energy stuff Raven controlled sent my book flying off to impact the wall.
"Don't ignore me" she ordered.
In response to that I turned and glared at her but I wasn't very scary without the mask.
"I forfeited because I didn't want to hurt Robin" was the answer I finally gave her.
She clearly wanted more so I gave it, if only to stop her from bothering me even more than she already had.
"This is just a stupid contest being run by a coward who won't even show himself. I'm not going to beat people up for some prize that might not even be worth bothering to get out of bed for" I explained fully.
I then went and recovered my book so I could start reading again. Only Raven did the dark power thing once more and made the book float over to the set of drawers.
"Would you..." I started to say.
I'd been about to ask her not to do that again when Raven kissed me on the cheek. It was so shocking that my mouth stopped working.
"You're a jerk sometimes, but deep down you're not so bad" the Titan said.
Considering the fact that I'd ripped her a new one, at least verbally, only a few hours ago I would have thought she be mad at me, but perhaps this was better as at least she might stop bothering at some point.
"Yeah, whatever" I replied.
It was late so I laid down and closed my eyes, hoping she'd finally get the hint and stop bothering me.
"I might get cold later" Raven then said.
At this point I was gritting my teeth, she just didn't seem to understand that while I wished her no harm this didn't mean I cared about her.
"Just don't have another nightmare" I requested "You might not need any beauty sleep but I do".
That was suppose to be a joke but she didn't seem to understand that.
"You think I'm beautiful?" she then asked.
One day I'd learn to keep my fool mouth shut. Sadly it didn't looked as if that wouldn't be today.
"Yeah" I said "You're beautiful".
There was no point taking it back now, and she seemed happy enough with that as she shut up for a while. It just wasn't long enough for my liking.
"Do I really treat people that badly?" she inquired.
Now I just had to say to something.
"Yes" I told her "All you Titans are horrible. I tried to be nice. I even saved your lives but you still treat me like I'm the scum of the universe".
Then she surprised me again by saying one word.
"Sorry"
That made me open my eyes.
"Apology accepted" I told her.
Then I closed my eyes again but still I got no peace.
"I know Beast Boy ruined it, but did we have a good date?"
Finally I decided to just give in and talk. I went into the kitchen for another beer and when I got back I said.
"It was fine".
"Just fine" she prompted
I drank some beer and thought about what to say.
"Well you asked all the questions, and didn't given me a chance to ask any back which was a bit rude and then you ran away so I wouldn't call it a good date".
To avoid upsetting her I decided to throw her an olive branch.
"When I'm next in Jump City we can try it again".
A cup of coffee wouldn't do any harm.
"Maybe somewhere else" Raven suggested "somewhere the others don't know about".
She wasn't ashamed I guessed, rather she just didn't want it to be ruined by another of her friends showing up.
"I'm going to bed" Raven then said, who was back to being pleasant now that she'd gotten her own way "Would you keep me warm?".
She went from one emotion to another so often it was a wonder she could even function as a person.
"I'd rather not" I told her.
I was not against cuddling, but having a female body in contact with my own all night was going to leave me sexually frustrated. Last night I'd been too tired to care but it was different now.
"Fine" said Raven.
I finished my beer and got into bed. I stayed on top of the covers and I could tell she wanted me to hold her. She really was very needy.
"Sorry, sunshine, but you don't get the cuddles without the sex" I said with a smirk "and I'm still not your boyfriend".
I could have sworn her say 'yet' but I must have imagined her saying that.