Come The Lightning And The Thunder- Liz 6

To call the descending planks of wood 'stairs' was an insult to staircases everywhere. They looked like they wouldn't support a seagull, let alone a group of teenagers. They zigzagged down the cliff the pier was built off of, ending at a small beach dotted with trash and 'DO NOT SWIM' signs. A light breeze swung the lengths of rope someone hoped to pass off as handrails.

They were a death trap.

"There is no way those are safe," Liz protested, calculating how many bones she'd break when the stairs ultimately collapsed.

Beast Boy ran and jumped on the top step; the staircase shook but held firm. "Totally safe!" He grinned.

She didn't trust it.

"You aren't scared of heights, are you?" Cyborg asked.

"Uh, no- we've been on roller coasters all day."

The height wasn't the issue; it wasn't even the OSHA violations masquerading as stairs that freaked Liz out. It was the water.

Until that point, she'd been too busy enjoying rides and games to process the fact that the park they were at was called the 'pier,' as in a platform leading out to a body of water. The park began on solid ground, but somewhere along the way, the land support ended, and the pier was suspended far above the ocean. The ocean, which Liz was truly and irrationally terrified of.

"I promise, the view we're about to show you will be worth it," Beast Boy said.

"I can fly you down," Starfire offered brightly, and Liz couldn't think of a valid reason to refuse.

Danny linked their arms when he and the rest of the Titans joined them on the beach. "It'll be okay," He whispered, putting himself between her and the waves. "I won't let you fall in."

Robin led the way down the strip of sand to a wharf that stretched about 30 feet past the shore. It wasn't very wide- maybe 6 feet across- and Liz made a point to tread lightly and stay away from the edges.

From the pier, the ocean had seemed too dark, and up close she realized the water was gross and dirty, dulled by murk and trash.

"There's so much pollution runoff," Beast Boy explained with disappointment. "Jump is a great place, but the environment is disgusting. Most aquatic life can't survive in all that crap- it's why the Pier had to close their submarine attraction."

"That's horrible," Danny sympathized.

"It gets worse. The water is so toxic now that it's closed to the public; too many people got sick or had bad reactions after swimming. The fishermen all left because anything they could manage to catch was deformed or too sick to be eaten. I'm trying to get the city to commit to cleaning this place up, but it's low on their list of priorities."

"But," Cyborg cut in. "The good news is that it's on the list! More and more people are harassing the city to bring their favorite beach back- when the sun goes down, you'll understand why we love this place so much."

Other, shorter docks were scattered around with groups of people gathered together. Apparently, watching the sunset was a fan-favorite activity.

"I am glad we brought you here," Starfire said. "And that we get to share this with you."

Something bitter clenched in Liz's chest. She honestly didn't understand why the Titans brought her and Danny anywhere, or why they were keeping them around so long. She hadn't expected them to stay overnight, let alone for days.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she was enjoying her time with the Titans. They were kind and fun and seemed to genuinely care about her well-being. She hadn't seen Danny so relaxed and happy in years. The Titans were people she could see herself being friends with, which made her next thought hurt all the more.

She and Danny needed to leave, soon.

They'd stayed in one place too long. Every day they didn't leave Jump City increased the chances of the Guys In White tracking them down. The Titans still didn't know their secret, and for everyone's safety, they never would. The Guys In White were vicious and cruel and wouldn't hesitate to dispose of the Titans if they stood between them and Liz and Danny.

Liz looked around, memorizing every detail and savoring the moment. Later, when she was homeless again, she wanted to be able to think back to this moment and remember what it felt like to be happy and warm.

"Ready?" Beast Boy appeared beside her, pointing to the sun and counting down. "Five… four… three… two..."

One. The ocean lit up like a pool of gold; faded sunlight danced along the waves, painting the water with streaks of orange and pink.

"Wow," Liz breathed.

"Told ya," Cyborg grinned.

Beast Boy and Starfire say on the end of the wharf, feet dangling off the edge. Robin and Raven stood behind them, admiring the view.

"There's a bug in your hair," Danny told Liz quietly, snickering when she frantically shook her head. "Here- stop- let me get it."

The sun illuminated him in a golden halo as he moved in front of her, carefully detangling a small bug from her hair. The colors of the sunset reflected in his eyes make them appear more amber than baby blue. He smiled at Liz as he blew the bug away and brushed her hair back into place. She caught his hand before he lowered it, pressed his palm to her cheek, and held it there with a soft grin.

"Hello, Robin."

Liz jumped; the deep voice sounded like it came from right behind her, but when she whirled around, the speaker was further up the wharf.

He was a tall man that blended into the shadows. She wouldn't have seen him at all if it weren't for the light reflecting off his armor. His face was obscured by a half-orange, half-black mask, leaving a single dark eye visible.

Instantly the Titans were on their feet; Cyborg's blasters blazed to life, Raven's raised hands disappeared in clouds of dark energy, and Starfire's eye's glowed solid green, light breaking through her clenched fists. Danny and Liz were the only things standing between them and their target.

"Slade," Beast Boy growled like a feral cat, shifting into a tiger and stalking up the wharf to stand next to Cyborg.

"It's been a while," the man- Slade- spoke only to Robin. "I see there have been some changes."

Robin said nothing. Though his bo staff was out and ready, he seemed rooted to the spot.

Slade didn't walk so much as he strutted closer, unconcerned about the murderous looks from the Titans.

"Funny," He stopped a few paces away, close enough that Liz could see the black iris of his eye, and leered down at her. "They don't look like much. Then again, looks can be deceiving."

"What are you doing here?" Raven demanded.

He didn't answer, standing perfectly still and silent. Every nerve in Liz's body screamed danger. A shiver ran up her spine to the base of her skull, the hair there standing on edge like she'd been shocked. Everything about Slade was supernatural and wrong, an indescribable evil radiating from his person. Liz's heart simultaneously felt like it was going to beat out of her chest and like it wasn't beating at all. Nothing existed beyond the cold obsidian stare drilling into her soul.

"Slade," Raven snapped.

"I've come to check on my star pupil." He didn't move. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me."

"You should not have come here," Starfire sneered, an unexpectedly passionate hatred in her voice.

Slade straightened to his full height, and though he towered over Liz, she could breathe again. "Am I to assume all has been forgiven? That the team is back and better than ever?"

Loathing pulsed in Cyborg's eyes. "You need to leave."

"He's told you everything, then? All the grim, gruesome details?"

Beast Boy bared his teeth, a suppressed roar vibrating in his throat.

"I'm sure he answered all the burning questions you had for him."

Robin pushed past Starfire and Raven angrily. "Enough!"

"So he does speak. Good to know I didn't cause any permanent damage.

Cyborg's eyes widened with concern.

"You came, you saw me; you can leave now." There was no confidence in Robin's voice.

"How very polite of you," The smirk on Slade's face was audible when he asked, "Tell me, Robin, did your friends have to lower their standards so you could remain on the team? Or did they bring these two on board to replace you?"

That was the final straw. Robin leaped over Beast Boy, swinging his staff at Slade's head. Slade caught it, and all hell broke loose.

"Run," Raven instructed. The golden ocean was wrapped in black and the water rose to form walls on either side of the wharf, containing the fight.

Liz didn't need to be told twice. An internal monologue of shitshitshitshitshit looped through her mind as she and Danny took off.

"Not so fast," Slade said, sidestepping Beast Boy's claws and tripping them. "I want to see what you're capable of."

"Leave 'em alone!" Cyborg swung a fist into Slade's stomach; he doubled over and Danny and Liz took the chance to scramble away.

BANG!

A chunk of the wharf exploded; Liz lost hold of Danny as the heat of the blast knocked her back. By pure luck, she avoided braining herself; Danny sprawled a few feet away, stunned but unharmed. No one noticed they hadn't escaped.

Despite being five against one, Slade was winning the fight. The Titans' attacks were passionate instead of calculated, fueled by hatred and anger. Meanwhile, Slade was the definition of calm and composed. He dodged with a fluidity a man his size shouldn't possess.

"What the hell do we do now?" Danny crawled over, panic in his eyes.

There weren't many options. The first couple feet of the wharf was gone, barely a support beam to remember it by. The gap was too big to jump and the water was a no-go for several reasons. Someone had realized they hadn't made it to shore, and at least one Titan was keeping an eye on them- they couldn't go ghost without being caught. Really, the only choice left was-

"I'll go high, you go low. Try and throw him off balance."

Danny popped his neck and sarcastically said, "I can't wait to see how this turns out."

A second later, they had their opening. Danny took a running start and tackled Slade's legs; Liz launched herself at his head, grabbing the sides of his mask and throwing her weight the opposite way.

Their plan worked- for a moment. Slade dropped to one knee to try and reorient himself. Too soon, he recovered, standing and using no effort to shake Danny loose and shove Liz away.

"Is that the best you can do?" He snarled.

Again, Robin attacked with his staff. Slade ripped it from his grasp, turned, and used it to impale Cyborg, stabbing through a weak point under his arm. Cyborg swore, sparks flying from his arm and LEDs flashing ominously as he stumbled back. He went down; Slade kicked him up the wharf like a pebble. He stopped before falling off the edge but didn't get back up.

"Here I was hoping you'd evolved beyond these pathetic weaknesses," Slade blocked a punch from Starfire and dunked under Beast Boy's furious claws. "As always, Robin, you disappoint me."

Liz was getting sick of his bullshit. The arrogance and attitude reminded her a little too much of Vlad, and she wanted to slap it out of him. She shared a look with Danny, pointedly blinking four times; he nodded and after a silent count of three, they attacked.

Danny rammed his shoulder into the middle of Slade's spine. Liz kicked at his knees with all her strength. With a surprised, pained grunt, Slade went down, body trying to fold in two different ways at the same time.

Robin took the opportunity to stomp on his chest once, twice, three times. On his fourth try, Slade grabbed his ankle and yanked him down to his knees.

"Watch yourself, Robin," Slade rolled to his feet. "These new teammates of yours are smart."

Beast Boy tried to sink his teeth in the meat of Slade's shoulder, but the man grabbed his fang and twisted his head to the side. Like he weighed nothing, Slade used Beast Boy as a club, slamming the tiger into Raven. She'd been too focused on her spell to dodge. She smacked against a pillar at the wharf's edge, skull bouncing off the wood with a sickening crack! The walls of water fell with a splash.

Oh shit.

Beast Boy dropped his transformation and spit out Slade's hand. "Ew, gross! Do you ever wash your gloves?"

A strong backhand sent him stumbling.

"That is far enough," Starfire floated in front of Robin, eyes burning furiously.

With a roll of his eye, Slade lifted his left arm; a small blaster rose from his wrist. Robin barely had time to yell, "DUCK!" before it was fired.

Starfire didn't react in time. She was shot back with enough power to send her crashing into the stairs. They collapsed, dragging rock and debris with them. With a scream, Starfire vanished in the chaos.

Then there were three.

Double shit.

"You've made your point, Slade," Robin said, backing as far away as possible in the limited space. He only got a few steps away before he ran out of wharf, heels balanced precariously on the edge.

"Have I?" Slade lunged, wrapping a hand around Robin's neck and pushing until he was the only thing keeping Robin from falling into the water.

Liz snagged Robin's outstretched hand and wrapped her other arm around the closest post while Danny tried to pull Slade's arm away. They were ignored.

"What point have I made, exactly?" Slade kept his focus on Robin. "That I'm stronger? Smarter? A better fighter? You know all that already- or have you forgotten?"

"We've beat you before," Robin choked out, free hand in an iron grip around Slade's wrist.

"Because I've allowed you to win."

Liz pulled on his arm, trying to get more than the steel tips of his boots back on the wharf. Nothing she or Danny did had any effect.

"Let him go," Danny scowled, abandoning his physical attack. "We get it, you're a grade-A fruit loop with a deranged obsession with Robin. You can fuck off back to creepville now!"

Without even a glance to the side, Slade basked his free palm into Danny's nose. He swore as blood started gushing, reeling backward only to trip over a dazed and disoriented Beast Boy.

"Do you think you could beat me here and now if I don't allow you the victory?" Slade hissed.

The odds weren't great. Robin was one hand spasm away from taking a dip in radioactive water, and if she didn't let go fast enough, he'd pull Liz in with him. At the far end of the wharf Raven was still out cold, and Starfire hadn't reappeared since her collision with the stairs. Beast Boy was trying to gather his bearings, and Danny was… not where she expected him to be.

Moments ago he'd been flat on his back behind Beast Boy. Now he was inching his way toward Cyborg, looking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure he wasn't seen. He had a plan.

Son of a bitch.

"I think we could," Liz blurted with more confidence than she felt. "Actually, I know we could beat you."

"Don't," Robin warned.

"Is that so?" Slade switched which hand held Robin, facing her straight on, back turned to Danny.

Liz dropped Robin's hand and casually walked back until she was in the middle of the wharf; Slade had to let Robin hold his full weight on the wood if he wanted to keep up his intense stare-down.

"Yeah, it is so," with Robin out of immediate danger, she found herself summoning a petty mindset usually reserved for quipping with ghosts. "By my count, it only took two of us to knock you to your knees, and we did it twice. Pretty sure you didn't 'allow' that."

Robin eyed her like she was insane- and maybe she was, talking smack to an adult that the Titans clearly feared. Sue her, but Liz was sick of grown-ass men and their egos threatening her. It was time to take her power back.

A quick glance told her Danny had made it to Cyborg; he crouched beside the robot, poking at his arm. You better know what you're doing.

"Not to mention," she continued. "That we didn't even need powers to kick your ass! Speaking of- do you even have powers? Besides being a major creep, obviously."

"I am more powerful than you could ever imagine," Slade said darkly.

"Pfft, yeah, cause threatening to drop a kid in the ocean is the epitome of power. Like, Christ my guy, anyone can do that. I can do that. You aren't special; you're just an asshole."

The longer she spoke, the angrier Slade got. In his distraction, his grip on Robin lessened. "You should watch your language around me, girl," His voice was ice, and Robin flinched.

She laughed; had he seriously just told her the best way to get under his skin? It was too easy. "Or what, old man? You'll wash my mouth out with shitty soap? Who do you think you are- my fucking guidance counselor?"

If they were in a cartoon, steam would have come from Slade's hidden ears. He didn't pay attention to Robin as he carefully pried off his fingers and freed himself. He didn't realize Raven was beginning to wake up. He definitely didn't notice Danny manhandling Cyborg into a sitting position and helping him raise his still-sparking arm.

In fact, Slade was oblivious to everything until something fired from Cyborg's arm and rolled to a stop at his feet. Robin gasped.

Slade eyed the mysterious object with disgust. "What is this?"

Danny grinned with blood-stained teeth. "Tick, tick, boom."

Beast Boy yelped and dove into the water.

Tick.

Robin body tackled Liz, rolling back to where Raven was blinking back to awareness, shielding them as best he could with his cape.

Tick.

Cyborg smirked. "Booyah!"

BOOM!