Disclaimer: By this means, I rightfully claim ownership to this fanfiction story and my original character within it, by my trademark signature T.M.O at the conclusion of every update. Any other characters that may appear in this work and are new, these are the rightful properties by their creators as well and cannot be reproduced, or duplicated without their individual consent. I do not own anything within the DC Universe, from Warner Brothers, or on Cartoon Network. The only original character and the name that I created for him; that I accept half ownership on is Falcon from this telling. Scififanfreak222 owns the second half of him as well, for drawing him upon a collaboration of various new designs and sketches within the year of 2010; and cannot be knowingly placed into another literary document, writing community, comic book series, and or televised broadcast without either of our written or verbal consent in front of legal consultants. TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne, Scififanfreak222, xSaffire55x, Novus Ordo Seclorum, and RavenxIsxAxBlackxRose; each of these fellow writers have helped me to press onwards with this story, every-time I have come across writers block. Without their outstanding guidance, the updates would have taken me even longer to complete.
Chapter 12 is here! New characters are introduced, a meeting within a hospital transpires, as Red X seeks his reward. "One should rather die than be betrayed. There is no deceit in death. It delivers precisely what it has promised. Betrayal though ... betrayal is the willful slaughter of hope." -Steven Deitz-
Chapter 12 - Confounded Discussions
"So, what do you think it is this time?" begins a rather slim, and 6 foot 8" tall man. His dark brown hair was neatly parted in the center, while he was dressed in his hospital scrubs, of light blue clothing, as a stethoscope was draped about his neck.
The man carried a name-tag of Jefferson, over the upper left half of his chest; he was twenty-six years of age, although many assumed that he was far younger. Jefferson Stims had recently graduated from medical school, gaining his basic nursing and health-care diploma, at the University of San Francisco.
This campus was in the top ten medical schools across the country, but that was not his first choice at a wanted profession.
Never truly feeling when he was a child, that working in a hospital would be his future job, as other things held his interests. However, after dealing with a near-death experience of his younger brother, he saw then that he could and truly wanted to do, something extraordinary with his life.
Jefferson finally realized that getting involved, in the medical practice was his true calling, shortly following the final dull year of hemming and hawing, over other options in high-school. He was very gifted, but staunchly stubborn in certain motives.
"I don't know." replied a second man, in a gruff and rasping voice. "Some stupid kid forgetting to look both ways, before crossing the street in the dead of night? Perhaps a frat party, that had gone horribly awry, where one dumb delinquent had too much to drink, and things got out of control."
The younger gentleman clutched at the bar tightly, as the visibly older medical assistant, took another deep inhale from his slowly dissolving cigarette. His shadow arched behind him, and Jefferson turned to give him a befuddled look.
"What difference does it make?" the rugged co-worker continued, crows-feet were noticed around his sailor-like blue eyes. "We're here now aren't we, and this is our job. Frankly, I couldn't care a lick of rainbows about what the job is. This case is critical for a time, sure. But don't you go thinking I have to pour an ounce of thought more into this thing."
These two had worked together for a brief three months, and while they had good camaraderie, there were obvious differences between them.
Jefferson was young, nervous and a bit jumpy, about any new arrivals at the hospital. His excitement at preforming his craft, gave him an unexpected spurt of energy. He did not fully understand the in's and outs of the hierarchy, that made the tough calls, but he was totally focused on his job. He was a male nurse, working to save lives.
Christopher Malvern his co-worker, was the exact opposite. He was forty-three, while his short blondish gold hair was getting strands of gray on certain mornings. His ocean blue eyes kept a firm yet attractive feature about his face, yet the obvious crows-feet added a deeper sense of sage like wisdom.
Unlike his counterpart, Malvern had been employed at Saint Mary's Critical for well over a decade. Fifteen years, several months, and eighty-nine days to be exact. In his youth as he noticed in Jefferson, the very same drive to save lives, to help people and to learn all he could of medicine, these were traits he once possessed.
He was slightly taller than his buddy, standing six feet eleven inches and weighing in at 240 pounds. Both men were muscular, well toned and healthy. One had to be to preform their duty in this career.
The noble adventure that drew Christopher into the medical text books as a child, of playing doctor, and of treating cuts on his neighborhood friends, this turned stagnant. As time progressed he became short-tempered, bitter even, at all the stupidity and foolish mistakes that people tended to make. He slowly became numb to much of the horrors, and death he witnessed on a weekly basis.
"Sometimes-" He took a long puff on the cigarette. "Sometimes I feel, like it's all a figment of a dream." He flicked the ashes over the railing. "Like not a damn thing matters here, and this is just some loop of a cycle playing over in my head. Playing over and over."
Jefferson kept his hazel eyes fixated upon the motion, of the gradually dissolving cigarette. "I-" He shook his head, and he stared out to the waterfront, to watch the morning sun rise higher. "You know, you never struck me that way when we first met."
"Really?" Christopher smirked. "Maybe I'm just . . . eh, never mind."
As Christopher took another puff, he glanced to his knuckles. They revealed signs of harsh, manual labor. The skin was cracked and dry, like his lips.
"Hmmm." Jefferson revealed a grin of his own. "You know, those things are a really nasty habit."
Christopher rolled his eyes. Then, he took an extra long drag and he exhaled very slowly, releasing a cloud of the toxic vapor in the direction of his co-worker.
"So, another long night?"
"Yeah." Jefferson leaned forwards on the railing, putting his right foot into the slot, and staring out at the city. The older assistant had his back against it, looking up at the clouds. "But, I rarely get any sleep. How - how do you do it?"
Christopher removed the object from his cracked lips, squinting his deep and piercing eyes at his friend.
"Well, we all have our vices I guess." The second worker sniffed for a moment, and he brought the cigarette to his mouth once more. It was almost totally burnt out. "You'll learn."
"That's just it though." Jefferson strummed his fingers along the wet metal. The rhythm he played, carried a tune that he recalled from his childhood. It sounded like Beethoven's 9th symphony. "What if I can't?"
A sudden flurry of wind picked up on the rooftop. Their loose fitting scrubs wrinkled from the updraft, and their short hair felt the coolness of the new day. Christopher glanced in a different place, and he drew his last drag, as a foreign shadow began to draw near.
"You will."
"But what if I can't?"
The more experienced hospital aid, tapped the remnants of the cigarette from the ledge, as red hot embers danced in the breeze. The younger man was transfixed, watching the current of air take it away.
"You will come to accept your role and realize . . . not all of this stuff matters. You'll grow hard to accept the truth, and eventually, you'll treat each and every poor son of a bitch, stupid enough to find themselves in our care, with the simple and unequivocal belief, that things will always be okay."
"And your point?"
"That after everything, whether you can or can't save the person, you move on with the next one." Christopher shrugged his shoulders. "That's it."
The distinctive shade was getting in much clearer view now, the fervent noise was caused from propeller blades slicing through the air. The medical helicopter was in range, and preparing to touch-down.
"You will make yourself used to it, or you won't. There isn't any way round it, and if it all becomes too much, you wipe your hands clean of this place, and quit."
"That's not something in my book." Jefferson pointed at the other man's chest. "I never walk away."
"Humph. We'll see."
Saint Mary's Critical, was the all-purpose intensive care hospital, along the Southern Californian shoreline; that resided deep within the heart of Los Angeles. Jump City on the other hand, was north of here, and it was nestled alongside the ocean.
Jump City Central while adequate and prominent on its own, was a level three trauma facility; and it did carry certain necessities, for high-end cases like what had happened to Falcon. It was a good place to bring those, who did require medical surgery but Saint Mary's was even better, in regards of treatment.
Most patients that were airlifted away from disastrous events, like earthquakes, nasty burns, horrific car crashes, strange illnesses that could not be diagnosed, cancer in various stages, that became too much for the local hospitals to take charge of; the patients were transported towards Saint Mary's Critical.
The Shadow Manipulator had been buried beneath a pile of rubble, from the train station. Jump City Central could do just so much for him, and the young girl who found him, she knew only too well that there would be one place, that had better odds of saving his life.
Broken glass, mangled pieces of heavy iron and deadly metal, spent electrical connections, and crooked pieces of once recognizable now shrapnel bits of furniture, which felt like knives to his skin, had forced lacerations, bruises, and even cracked bones.
The most threatening injury he had sustained, forcing a tremendous loss of blood was the piece of jagged and un-sanitized rebar wire, that had embedded itself into the upper left quadrant of his chest. A few inches more to the right, and nothing would matter.
Within the helicopter, the view outside was tilted at a bizarre angle for the patient. The skyscrapers and the shades of buildings below, they appeared to zoom by and he was certain, that he was no longer in Jump City.
Every wound stung, his neck had wide gashes, his legs were slashed while his right ankle was fractured. He was copiously bleeding everywhere and he could feel it trickle out of his body, from the hole in his chest, to the cut across his head.
The deep scarlet color was thick, and from the wound across his forehead, the injury unleashed a river of blood. He could not move his arms, and it poured all over him. Everything was cold emptiness, there was nothing but the void. His communicator was lost, his body broken, and his enduring courage had been humiliated.
Even his powers though dark and mysterious, were unresponsive in his most desperate hour, he could not focus or calm his nerves. Slade had used his greatest asset, the darkness of the tunnel against him. There were no shadows, and the brawl only wore his vigor out completely.
He had been bested, and he had failed.
"Stay with me." a calm and bell-like voice was heard. "We're almost there."
The light came back in sharp tints, and then quickly faded into blackness whenever he opened his eyes. His sight was weaning, where his willpower to keep breathing, was uncomfortable.
A concussion to my head? Falcon said in his mind. It must be bad, everything is a blur.
During this time, the image of a leaf clinging from an old oak tree from his backyard, came spinning back to him. He did not understand why, but he could see through the eyes of his seven year old self, that one season had ended, and a much colder time was about to begin.
The leaf finally broke away from the branch, where Falcon felt a connection to the crisp red and brown piece of foliage, tumbling and turning, free falling to the earth. His heart-rate was slowing in rhythm, and the vision began to distort and ripple into obscurity.
"Just hang on."
Falcon moved his neck, turning his head to the person by his side. Her black tank-top had a fresh coat of blood smeared all over the shirt, distorting the image of the phoenix logo. The attractive blue eyes sparkled in the cabin, she smelled of lavender.
That's not Raven. Falcon thought. Her eyes are different. Who is she?
He could not speak as a mask delivered rich oxygen to his battered lungs, and he was exhausted. Softer and slower, his heartbeat dropped its pace. The ambulatory electrocardiograph device beeped in the background, revealing that he was going into cardiac arrest.
"Stay with me!" Her voice forced his brown and white eyes, to remain spellbound to her ripe lips and small nose. "You're going to make it, just hang on!"
His body was shaking from the bumpy motion of the aircraft, he did not know where he was going, yet from the instant he felt his body being carried out from the ruins, he deduced it must be to a hospital.
"Saint Mary's is in sight, we'll be arriving soon!" A male tone from the cockpit echoed.
"How's our patient doing back there?" asked the co-pilot.
Softer and quieter his heart beat, pumping at a more complicated rhythm. His organs were shutting down, where the gadgets and monitors all revealed this.
"Not good." replied the cute girl, and she looked away. "Stay with me, come on kid fight this!"
Falcon's heart-rate was plummeting, his body heaved upwards as he felt a strange and slimy mucus deep in his throat. His body forced a harsh cough outwards, expunging the horrid fluid into the mask.
The color red became smeared against the thin clear plastic. His lung had been punctured, where he felt dizzy and he collapsed backwards, unable to breathe or speak. This was it, and there was no time left.
The last thing he noticed was the beautiful young female glancing downwards at him. Her hair was disheveled, and some of it arched across her right eye.
Smiling he can only move his lips, but no words escape. His lips form the words, and the girl who saved him is stuck to this gesture, as she removes the breath mask to observe.
"Cold." With his eyes shut his head plummeted to the right side, where a tear was felt dripping downwards onto his cheek. " So … co-"
"No, no. NO!"
"We will touch-down in five." The pilot flipped a few switches by the center console.
The ride got a little bumpier, as an air-pocket whipped the underbelly of the helicopter, causing the people on the inside to grow a little discomforted.
"He doesn't even have one minute!" The young girl pleaded. "You've got to land us, NOW!"
"We're in range." The co-pilot snapped his head back to the main dashboard. "Man, he doesn't look good."
"He's going to make it." The girl rubbed her neck in panic. "He's going to make it."
"I don't know." The co-pilot answered.
The girl tore open the remains of the patient's shirt, getting a clear view of his bare chest. It was a ghostly pale color, with the sticky mixture of blood coated across his skin. The rebar was still protruding out of his body, clearly observable.
There appeared to be even older scars, and claw marks across his skin. The nurse put this out of her mind, and she immediately glanced up at the assistant pilot.
"Shut up!" She hissed trying to collect her thoughts. "He's going to make it."
After grabbing the defibrillator paddles, and turning the current on she sighed, while using her right wrist to clear away a bit of sweat, clinging to her forehead.
"Don't quit on me now. Not when we're this close." she whispered by his ear. "Stand by . . . CLEAR!"
The mighty shadow of the helicopter quickly overlapped the flower garden, at Saint Mary's Critical. The noise of the engines caused the windows to rattle, as a tiny girl in a wheelchair looked up holding onto her head scarf. The white roses surrounded her on all sides of the pathway, and the warm blue blanket draped over her waist, was blown from the wind.
"Someone is hurt." whispered the pale six year old girl.
"I think you're right." answered the orderly as he looked up. He was in his twenties and had blue eyes.
"Will he be okay?"
Did she just say he? "Come on Gretchen, let's go pick your flowers."
"Okay." Her tone this time was somewhat saddened.
While the young man pushed Gretchen in the wheelchair, a distant figure in a white lab-coat began to walk towards them. He was holding a steaming cup of coffee in his right hand, while under his left arm a folder was tucked, as a stethoscope was spotted draped around his neck. The silver name-tag glittered in the sun, where the black letters spelled Dr. Spears. He wore small round glasses, that fit his handsome face nicely as his brown hair was neatly parted.
"Hello there Gretchen, and how are the flowers this morning?" the gentle man asked in a rather soothing voice.
"I wish there was more of a variety." Gretchen replied, sounding defeated.
The doctor smiled and knelt down next to her. "You know, there are some pretty red roses, that grow on the north side of the causeway."
"But I want sunflowers." She frowned. "You can't make it work without sunflowers."
The old hospital doctor smirked. "Still on with that project are you?"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, in that case, you might think of the Eastern Wing of the facility."
"But we already looked there yesterday, and there was nothing."
"But did you check the spot by the Chinese Restaurant? I know that some pretty big sunflowers have been found over there a few times."
"That's it!" Gretchen's smile beamed brightly like the morning sun. "Onward Mr. Kennedy, onward for my sunflowers!"
"Very well." The orderly sighed, then paused as the young girl put her hand to the doctor's sleeve.
"Mr. Spears?"
He turned to look down. "Yes."
She did not look up. "A helicopter just arrived."
"I thought I saw one." He wiped his glasses with with a black cloth he carried, and then he placed them back on.
"Is Elizabeth in it?"
A vibrating noise sounding like a bee interrupted the conversation, where Dr. Spears reached into his front right coat pocket, and he pulled out his smart-phone. After a quick glance at the screen to see who called him, a smirk rose about his face.
"That she is."
"Onward Mr. Kennedy, onward to pick my sunflowers!"
The giggling and laughter of the small six year old girl bounced about the courtyard, and the wise old doctor continued on his path to his office for the new day. He was a Chief Resident at the hospital, doing mostly paperwork and administrative tasks for the staff in the facility, and when he was not busy with this, spending time with the cancer patients was an added bonus.
Within one of the lobby rooms of Jump City Central, Raven was sitting nervously as her long blue hood was arched over her face, concealing her identity. The movement of doctors and nurses walking around the hallway and various rooms, was not something that she was comfortable with.
The gray Empath strongly disliked being around crowds, of being stuck in any tiny spaces, and the stench of potent smells always irked her. The overly powerful scent of bleach and disinfectants clung to the air, where the poor ventilation only made everything feel smaller. Some sick patient was heard coughing violently down the hall, as the noises of wheelchairs and tables moving about caused her ears to twitch.
A facility for the sick and dying was not a place any sane person would want to find themselves, but her dear friend had been brought here and she was staying, for moral support. She wanted to go home, to lock herself in her room and to drink her soothing herbal tea, but the others would arrive soon.
While she kept her focus on her legs, she observed the blood of her friend still clinging to her clothing. It was a rough night, and there was more than one person injured.
The friendly grin that Falcon revealed came swirling back to her mind, of him turning his back as the rest of their teammates hurried out of Titans Tower for their daring mission. His determined expression, only made her tremble, at how she and the others had completely abandoned him in his hour of need.
Robin is with him, he made it to him in time. Raven closed her eyes, as she mused over everything. Robin made the right call, there was nothing else we could do.
Sometimes things can be difficult, to be described as normal. It was a normal day, where normal people went about their normal business. Or was it? Normal things did not just fall from the sky, or cause bedlam in the streets.
Just ask Icarus or the people of Dresden. That's because this wasn't a normal day, nor would it be just like any other, that the people would soon forget. No, people tend to remember bad things, and those moments of panic and confusion, can quickly turn into anger and hostility. Raven knew it only too well, it was just human nature.
The flat screen television in the room was turned on, as the glow of the monitor was bright, and the sound captured hers, and everyone else's attention.
*Good Morning Jump City. I am Janet Pierson, and you're watching a Channel 5 Special Report.*
Raven looked up to observe the prettied up woman in her early thirties. The female news anchor with blond hair and blue eyes, she was the local hot-shot, for all the big scoops in and around the metropolis, as her news station was heavily viewed and the most trusted network. Still, Raven knew that not everything on television was to be trusted.
*Our top story for the day, a massive explosion at The Jump City Rail-Lines late last night, has caused quiet a scene of destruction, and panic. Details are still surfacing around the main cause of this calamity. There have been no reports of personal injury, and the area is strictly off limits to the public.*
The first rule of thumb, is never believe everything you hear. Question it all. In fact, if somebody tells you something, don't question what they are saying, ask yourself why are they saying it?
*The local fire and police departments have informed us, that a gas line, that runs beneath a section of the train station ruptured do to a slight earth-quake, and was the main trigger for the explosion. More information will be presented as the situation unfolds.*
The bottom line is no-one shares anything unless someone wants something. History is written and made, by the victors. Enforced and dictated by the ruling class. Money talks, and people listen. Democracy can only work, if the masses actually pay attention to what is going on around them, and not what is being force-fed by the media.
Just ask someone in Germany in the 1940's. Ignorance kills, and anyone can be strung into a lie, as long as the false information is coated with sugar.
*Some witnesses have even accounted, that Robin of the Teen Titans has only just arrived. There have also been reports, that Starfire was noticed causing destruction at the Bay Bridge, as a known criminal was spotted fleeing this area. As a local resident myself, I am utterly shocked at this sort of negligent behavior. For a leader of his team, to be so disconnected with his own group, while its other members are acting in an irrational and questionable narrative, and nowhere to be found. Things must be sorted out.*
For some people, their fifteen minutes of fame, have turned into fifteen years of lies. A constant barrage of pyrotechnics. In which words spoken are as vacuous as the people who speak them.
*When will the actions taken by this underage team of superheroes, be called into question? From meta-human conquerors of nature, that only cause property damage, reckless endangerment of the peace, and an overall god-like state of mind, when will their barbaric and unethical crime fighting ways be answered for?*
And there it is, the true nature of the disbelievers and truth benders. The media is full of snake charmers, where the tone of words, can generate a positive or negative mood of action. Where the negativity often spawns hatred and violence.
As with every hero there is a counterpart, the alter-ego. The living crooked it. When you look into a mirror, what do you see? Is the mirror looking back, or are you gazing at yourself? For without a negative there can be no positive.
*When will the people of Jump City stand up and say enough? We need to voice our concerns for what is right, and take poise on this issue. We are the ones in control, not them. It is no longer a time of deliberation, but a call to action.*
It is the rule of the universe, some rules are made to be broken. Whereas others, their entire existence depends on them. Sometimes, there are those willing to forgo all that, but blame should never be pointed solely at individuals. Rarely can a single being act, without an audience. They both feed on each-other.
*The true protection we have, is not with some strange superhero-like gods, living at an island fortress. The J.C.P.D. are here for us, our own tax dollars are spent, these men and women are hard at work making us safer. There is accountability for this department's actions, why not for those who think of themselves above the common Jump City police force?*
People allow things to go wrong. Tragedies are created by a series of events, not isolated incidents. Fear and panic are what keeps people transfixed, glued to the television and unable to break the hypnotic chains, pounding their brains into mush.
*Questions need to be answered, and the Teen Titans will account for their poor judgment not only from this night, but for all the times they have misled us.*
Whenever a witch hunt was called upon, the droves of the least informed would always be the first to pick up the pitchforks and torches. Unified masses were a force not to be trifled with, as hostility was always cast upon those, trying to calm the storm.
*Our safety is on the line. We must ask ourselves if this is the best we can do, while our city is brought into the cross-hairs?*
So much for calming the storm.
Raven slowly got up and walked out of the room. The bashing and complete unpleasantness by the local media deeply hurt. It was unfortunate, Slade was back and things could have been a lot worse, had her and her teammates done nothing, but trying to clean up that debacle would require a cooler head and time in front of a camera, time that she did not have.
She walked into the bathroom and ran cold water into her hands. She formed a cup with her palms, and splashed her face with the refreshing liquid.
God, how can any-one listen to that rubbish? Raven shut off the water, and she stared into the mirror. Slade may have lost this battle, but the endgame is not looking too favorable for us either. Nice move, while the city has been saved, public opinion is turning against us. Was that the plan all along, or is there something bigger going on here?
As she stared into the mirror, she placed a hand along the frame. The sight of the big red doors at the Jump City Dam was viewed. Beast Boy was on the ground, bleeding and broken, his body was a twisted mess while the blond skinny girl was laying next to him, with a knife handle sticking out of her chest.
"No." Raven felt her arms tremble. "We are heroes, what Beast Boy and Falcon have sacrificed will not have been for nothing. I will make sure of that."
Meditation was required, to soothe her troubled thoughts. As she left the restroom, she found her old seat and sat down quietly again. With her hands over her lap, she squeezed her fingers as she clenched her eyelids shut.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos . . ."
A lot had transpired during the course of a single night. The dark bags around Raven's eyes revealed that she needed sleep, and her haggard posture was slumped in an unnatural way. While she meditated, she straightened her back and sat up properly.
She needed to focus, to generate reasonable answers as to what she found inside the dam. Terra was back, but why? Why did Slade attack Beast Boy? What was the real goal that destructive villain had in mind?
The circular clock on the wall forced a steady tick . . . tick . . . tick, where the minute hand spun around on its dial. The time was 6:20 AM. Dozens of colorful magazines were spread about the rectangular wooden table in front of her, as the television was still on the local channel 5 News.
The room became slightly colder, as everything was tuned out. The voices of doctors and patients was silenced, the hypnotic glow of the television turned to utter blackness, as she felt herself transported into the sanctity of her inner mind.
-Flashback-
There was a time when Starfire was totally new to Earthy customs and modesties. During the first few months the team was together, even the most basic things were called into question.
Following a steamy hot fifteen minute shower, the Tamaranean Princess walked into the Common Room, completely naked as the day she was born. Her voluptuous breasts were not covered, as her long glossy smooth red hair was dripping wet.
She gradually found herself standing within the main lounge room, where the blue sofa was the only thing blocking her lower half, below her navel.
Robin's jaw almost hit the floor, as his heart was felt pounding away like a jackhammer, the second his eyes caught the tan girl standing in the doorway. When Raven noticed Robin, her eyes were then drawn to the elephant in the room, and she thought Starfire had given the Boy Wonder a heart-attack, due to the simple fact of revealing so much bare skin, in front of the entire team.
Time itself was felt as though it were stuck, where the gray sorceress released her tea cup, and it crashed upon the floor. Cyborg and Beast Boy turned once this harsh ear splitting sound reached them, while they were glued to the massive flat screen, and the video game they were playing, their eyes were instantly locked onto Starfire now.
"Pppppshhhh!" Robin spat out his piping hot coffee, as he dropped his mug. The great stain from his refreshing beverage was splattered across the kitchen wall. "Starfire . . . uh . . . wh-where are your um-"
"Clothes?" Raven cut-in, as she shut the covers to her book forcing a loud thud to resonate.
Starfire spun in place, her arms flailed outwards as she twirled like a prima ballerina. "Friends, the most joyful day of Gnikaerts is here! It is a most glorious festival, the sun is out, and the hour is early! What are you all still sitting around, like potatoes in sacks?"
There would be many more strange and unusual holidays, to which the beautiful alien princess would want to celebrate. Most of her native dialect from Tamaran, was rather difficult to decipher and rephrase into basic English. Starfire would jumble the entire sentences around, or she made things sound a bit longer than needed, as she felt it was the correct way of speaking.
The lighting in the room, almost glowed against her orange goddess-like body. Her curves were perfect like she was a supermodel, as she was very fit and attractive with her attire on, yet standing totally naked, Starfire was even more breathtaking.
"What day is it?" Raven asked, as she stood up and walked over, draping her cloak around her teammate.
"Is it Gnikaerts Day already?" Beast Boy leapt out of the sofa. "Oh, I almost forgot."
"Dude, what is she talking about?" The team technician whispered with a cupped hand to his green friend. "Then again, what are you talking about?"
"Never mind." Raven peered her cold eyes like lasers at her teammates. It was beginning to feel like a prank. "Starfire, go put some clothes on."
"Friend Raven . . . is today not, as Beast Boy had spoken earlier to me Gnikaerts Day?" Starfire revealed a perplexed look. "I marked it upon my calendar."
Raven's amethyst eyes burned at the green shapeshifter. Things were not adding up, but for her and the others to be left out of the loop on this special day, it only made the pieces fall into place that much faster.
"Starfire, there is no such holiday that I'm aware of on Earth like this one." Raven answered. "Why would Beast Boy give you that-"
The changeling and half-robot were deeply intrigued by the small talk, yet the expression of bewilderment had already began to melt away, as Beast Boy could not help himself but to giggle. When the gray sorceress heard this, a mountain of rage began to boil within her blood, and eventually erupt.
"Beast Boy!"
Two light-bulbs shattered in the far corner, as a shadow of dark purplish energy was encased around them, crunching the glass and filament.
In a matter of seconds, Raven had unleashed a total fury upon the little shapeshifting prankster, running after him and hurling anything she could grab using her telekinetic powers. It was only the second week that the team had been living together in Titans Tower.
The others were just finding where they were most comfortable. Robin at the helm was always ready to lead, like the star athlete he considered himself to be. Cyborg quickly went to tinker on his car and other pet-projects, like a handyman trying to make improvements about their home, as Raven was the defensive and protective sister, keeping herself in the seclusion of her room, like the family member nobody paid much attention to.
Starfire was like the uneasy and timid foreign exchange student, constantly asking questions about everything, and Beast Boy was the youngest, and the person who pulled constant gags and mischief on the others, like a frat-boy.
-End Of Flashback-
Raven was having a difficult time, trying to keep the grin from spreading as she sat in the waiting room of the hospital. It was an outlandish mystery as to why she thought of this, but perhaps it had something to do with that overconfident and boisterous little green changeling, and his determination to unravel their earliest days together.
Beast Boy was in dire straits, none of the doctors or nurses who Raven had first come across were meeting with her, she was entirely alone. Sitting in the blue cushioned chair, the prolonged hold-back for any answers was abhorrently brutal.
Strumming her fingers upon the wooden armrest, the unpleasant quiet was eroding any rest she might have gotten, where the concealed truth to her friend's well being was difficult to cope with.
Raven found her eyes locked onto the white painted double doors, the very room that Beast Boy and the blond haired girl were hurried into on gurneys. The Intensive Care Unit was just on the others side, and the fate of their lives hung in the balance.
There was nothing more she could do but wait. Wait for the others to arrive, wait for information from the surgeons, wait for breakfast. She was hungry, but food was not in the forefront of her mind. Raven was not a person to sit idle for long periods of the day, and the demanding tasks were only going to mount as the minutes dragged precariously on.
The room that Raven was sitting in was not an ordinary foyer, where the lobby areas for everyone else in the lower levels of the building, were separate from where she currently sat. It was a place for celebrities and their family members, should the media catch wind of the debacle that had unfolded, a frenzy of the press would envelope Jump City Central.
"Yo Raven, what's up?" The familiar booming baritone caused Raven to glance up from the enameled floor, and notice Cyborg. "I got your message, how's BB doing?"
Raven bit her lower lip, the words were difficult to find as she was face to face with Cyborg, and then she looked back at her boots. "He's . . . in there." She pointed to the doors.
"Oh." The team mechanic sighed. "No word from the doc?"
Raven shook her head in silence.
"I guess it's just a waiting game then."
"Like watching paint dry." Raven rasped.
"Raven, it is most good to see you. How are things?" The beautiful voice from Starfire caught the Empath off her guard.
"Taxing. Very taxing." Raven's eyes slowly rose to observe her sister teammate.
Starfire was sitting in a wheelchair, her hands were clasped over her lap while her left leg was wrapped in a beige cloth, and propped up. The look of exhaustion and dark half rings below hers and Cyborg's eyes was proof enough, that they had their own busy excursions as well.
"Starfire, what happened?"
The Tamaranean Princess beamed a heartfelt smile, and she tilted her head. "Well, confronting our old friend was something I was not prepared for. But, faced her I did."
"Jinx."
Starfire nodded in compliance, while Cyborg looked away and he moved to the chair alongside the gray sorceress. Raven leaned close, while Starfire positioned herself alongside both allies.
"So." Raven's gravelly deadpan picked back up. "How has she been keeping?"
Starfire rubbed her sore left limb, the back of her leg burned and was incredibly stiff. Having a massive I-Beam collapse and trap her in a nasty mess of debris, was discomforting and near death defying. Her leg was not fractured, but she did sprain her calf muscle.
"Jinx has been in a rough patch, to put things lightly."
"Oh?"
"She and Kid Flash had broken off their relationship, things with her new home, the Titans East were left into question, and the longing for staking out her own future was compounding her to sever all ties, and make her own destiny."
"That bad huh?" Raven leaned her torso back, and she released a bit of stale air from her lungs. "It seems that some people are truly hopeless."
"Mmmm." came from Cyborg.
The blue cloaked heroine sat in reverence with her comrades for a brief while, to muse over the data her brain was still analyzing.
"So." Raven picked things back up. "Starfire, you got injured. How bad is it?"
The red head raised an eyebrow. "Oh, the doctors say that things are going to be fine. I have sustained a slight sprain in my left ankle, and the muscles will require some time to heal, but the injury is only a minor discomfort."
A sprain, well at least she didn't break it. "That's good news." Raven replied.
"But now we're down three people." Cyborg cut-into the conversation finally. "Starfire, you may be feeling fine, but you're going to be sitting in that wheelchair for a couple of days at least."
"Hmmm." Raven cupped her chin with her left hand. "Slade really took the wind out of our sails."
"And the media hasn't been too keen on our positive works of late." He inhaled quickly, "On the way over here, we listened to a bit of talk radio and from what I gather about this, is that things are about to get a whole lot messier before the day is done."
"Slade struck in a bold way."
"Indeed. He put the entire city in jeopardy, and we went to stop him."
"We achieved what we set out to do." Starfire looked at both of them. "We have bested him, yet why does this not feel like the victory?"
"The whole thing was a massive decoy Starfire." Cyborg answered. "The bombs, the various locations, they were meant to divert our assets and total attention elsewhere while he went for another strike."
"Swift, brutal, and precise." Raven chimed in. "Definitely Slade's M.O."
The Titan's technological expert continued. "Our efforts only delayed the inevitable outcome."
"Which would be?" Starfire questioned.
"The tone of the public is swayed by the media. Slade used our own crutch of public opinion against us." Cyborg answered, "clever devil. Now the people feel we betrayed their trust, and are good as dead."
"What's worse, is now without a credible and proud support of the very people we have sworn an oath to protect, Slade can ramp up his attacks, do as he pleases and the people will have fear and anger directed at us." Raven concluded as she dropped her hands to her lap.
"Falcon said something once about this, didn't he? How the ironic twist of fate hits back with a vengeance."
The trio sat in silence for a while.
"Perhaps Robin can quell the brewing storm?" Starfire questioned. "He has always given and received positive feedback, with the news agencies."
"Speaking of, where the devil is he?" Cyborg rubbed the back of his neck, as he sat up and began to pace. "I want to go to The Jump City Railway and check on Falcon. Sitting here and doing nothing, was never my intention."
"Neither was it mine, but Beast Boy needed me." Raven replied. "When I got to the dam, he was in pretty rough shape. I did what I could for them, but even my powers have their limitations."
"Them?" Cyborg snapped into place, halting his frantic movements and he stared at the Empath with intrigue.
Starfire tilted her neck, from the gear-head back to the sorceress. This was unsettling and confusing beyond rational thinking.
"When I reached him he was not moving. He-" Raven glanced away, and she clutched at the armrest even tighter. "He was shot, twice. Once in the right shoulder, and again in his left knee."
The other pair of Teen Titans gasped, while Raven paused to evaluate the facts deeper. Her hands began to shake with unbridled fury, while the broken pair of bodies laying side by side replayed in her mind.
"There was so much blood. Everywhere." Raven stared intently at her hands, and felt the need to wash them, while tears welled up in her eyes.
"You said, that there was someone with him?" Starfire brought her back.
"I don't know how or why, there was no reason for her to be there. Yet she was."
"Who Raven, who was with him when you got there?" Cyborg hurried over and grabbed her shoulders. He shook her, and Raven blankly stared at the wall.
A lengthy hush crashed upon the small group, and the gentle touch of Starfire pulled Cyborg back, where Raven finally found the courage to look into the eye of her half-robotic friend, and respond.
"Terra."
Cyborg gradually walked backwards, while the expression he revealed was one of complete shock. He collapsed into the chair on the opposite end of the room, while Starfire frowned in a state of mourning.
"I don't know how to make sense of any of it." Raven continued speaking. "Things are not adding up, and I feel like I'm tumbling down a void of perpetual darkness."
"So, Terra is back." Starfire spoke. "Then what Beast Boy told us was true, and he did see her when we were confronted with that creature, that became whatever it was in contact with."
"It would seem so."
Cyborg loudly slapped his fist into his palm, forcing both girls to look at him. "I don't know how I would react, but it must have been something, for poor Beast Boy to come across her again."
The trio of superhero's allowed a powerful quiet, to suck the air out of the room. Their goal was to save the city and it had been saved, but the cost was steep, and the previous sixth member was back amongst them.
"Is it just me or has Robin seemed, well, different?" Cyborg questioned.
"Different in what way?" asked Raven.
"I dunno, something just felt off. And before I got in touch with you, he contacted me informing me to go back to the Tower, after dropping her off here."
"Instead of allowing you to go to the Train Station as promised?"
Cyborg shot out of the comfortable chair, and he harrumphed deeply revealing his frustration with the entire night-long pursuit. The Boy Wonder gave the orders, and while he was a year younger than the team technician, the others had stronger faith and respect in the decisions Robin made. Robin was The Dark Knight's apprentice, where the others never even came close to a mentor like that.
It simply meant that Robin had a better tutor and he knew the best way of coordinating others, like Batman did in The Justice League.
Rubbing is bald dome, he reopened his human brown eye and looked at Raven. "This is wrong." He arched his back to get the stiffness out. "Something just feels out of place."
"I know."
Starfire's emerald eyes narrowed as wrinkles were created across her smooth forehead. "But Robin is himself. He has not changed."
"Starfire, something doesn't add up." Cyborg repeated. "Why would he ignore my request to check on Falcon, after getting you out of that debacle."
"Perhaps he has already gotten to Falcon."
"Or . . ." Raven's eyes lifted to meet theirs. "Or he has some upsetting news, and he didn't want to say anything over the communicators."
The group instantly becomes mute, and they allowed this lingering silence to increase their sense of urgency, in getting to the bottom of things.
Starfire exhaled gently, "He will report his findings, Robin is doing the right thing. I do not doubt him, and neither should you."
"Star." said Cyborg. "I know Robin has done some good things for us, we know he is our friend, but that's not the issue on the table."
"Then what-"
"It's getting to a point, a serious tipping point in our ranks." Cyborg cut-her off. "I don't know if I can play this part any longer, I am getting worn down from all of these strategies and maneuvers he pulls. All of the double-dealings, it's eating away at my soul."
"Cyborg, what are you saying?"
Raven's head perked up slightly from her sunken posture.
He shook his head and walked over to the Tamaranean Princess. "I know you have more faith in him than anybody, but I'm getting at my wits end." He placed a hand upon her shoulder. "There is a war coming, and Slade has everything moving. We're not even on the playing field, yet we've suffered three casualties in one night!"
"Whatever Slade is plotting, we will be ready." Starfire said proudly. "I will be better in a few days, we can win."
Cyborg turned and walked for the exit, where he halted to stare out of a window to their city. A metropolis he had come to know and respect for a few years, but the public was turning against him and his friends. If he could not succeed, then he would leave.
"I can only fight him and Robin for so long, the fight between us is only getting more heated." Cyborg looked back. "Beast Boy is in the best of care, I did my part to help Starfire and now, I'm going home."
"I can't leave." Raven rasped. "Not until the doctors come back."
Cyborg nodded his head.
Starfire felt his eyes on her now, and she turned away. "I wish to keep of the company with Raven. I will be alright, you have done enough on my part friend, please, do not trouble your thoughts over me."
Starfire smiled at Raven, who merely glanced at this emotion of affection, and her head bobbed back down. The two did not say a single word.
"Go." Raven broke the silence, directing her attention at Cyborg. "You need to see this thing through to its conclusion, whatever the cost."
Cyborg exhaled, and as he got into the elevator he let out a whisper. "Whatever the cost."
The door slid closed, and the team's mechanic finally left the two girls. As the two friends sat in the secluded vestibule, a natural longing for reasonable answers was wanted, but the facts would be difficult to learn.
"Raven-" Starfire clutched at her knees. "I am not comfortable with where things are heading."
"Neither am I."
"But I trust in Robin, as he works harder than all of us. He is confident in his actions, and I must be confident in him, and so must you and Cyborg, and Beast Boy if our team is to succeed."
"I know Starfire."
"Yet . . ."
"You feel that Cyborg was also right." Raven turned and met the captivating emerald eyes of her teammate. "I'll tell you one thing, come what may after all this, things are going to be different."
"Raven?"
"Come on Starfire, Cyborg has been chomping at the bit to prove himself. You must have felt it, where he felt robbed and it most definitely was in his tone."
"So was it in Robin's."
Raven nodded, "They are two tectonic plates of differences, and they are colliding more and more."
"What do you mean?"
"I try to steer to the positive Starfire, I have been ever since we defeated Trigon but-"
"But what?"
"One of two things is going to happen." Raven breathed in, "If this thing with Falcon is worse than I fear, Cyborg will demand an immediate change in leadership."
"What is the second opinion you have?"
"Or, he will break his ties with us." The Empath shook her head, "I don't like this at all, but that's the feeling I get."
Starfire slammed a fist into the armrest. "No! We must not let this occur, the fracturing must not happen! Not when we are weakest, not when we must stand united!"
"That is also true." Raven smirked. "For all his darkness and overconfidence in things, there is one thing Slade does that actually manages to work in our favor. And, we don't really have to struggle for it to progress, like everything else."
"And what would that be?"
The smirk quickly faded. "As long as Slade is around, I'm pretty sure that Cyborg will stick close by to see that villainous monster captured. He can put up with Robin for now, at least until this grave task is completed."
"Hmmm." Starfire peered at the elevator that Cyborg had gone in. "I think you are correct."
A muscular figure cloaked in black, stood overlooking the rundown remnants of a now forgotten amusement park. The sun brought warmth to him, as the ever expanding light revealed the dilapidated structures that at one point were various rides and buildings, now nothing but a tragic graveyard.
Like most cities across the country, when things became run-down or the structures were deemed utterly abandoned and worthless to the general public, the unsightly messes were typically left alone.
Clean-up was a cost, demolishing what remained to make space for something new and exciting had a cost, the burden of hauling the rubble away carried a cost on its own, as the time of construction workers up through the foremen and city council members with their pencil pushing and paperwork, everything carried a dollar amount.
Time and money that most people could not afford to see go, was never spent. So the rubble was left where it had fallen, the twisted and mangled metal, the shattered wood and collapsed structures were totally avoided, while the city council did place a massive barrier between the main road and the outer perimeter of the once proud and illustrious theme park.
Now it was nothing more than a morbid scar, a terrible reminder of waste and facetious emptiness that the politicians loved to soak in. Then, when things turned sour the problems were always passed down to the new people in charge as a vicious cycle, of those in control and those wanting to buy votes.
A whipping breeze slunk around the figure's cape, and he clenched his fists while standing upon the roof of a vendor's booth. The rush of adrenaline, the excitement of a fight and besting his rivals never became dull or unwanted.
Red X had carried out his client's plans and had distracted Robin, he delivered the message and following a brawl of muscle and cleverness, the mercenary had come out on top, locking the hero within a deathtrap that he was sure to end him.
The white eyes of his skull-mask peered out across the graveyard before him, and he patiently soaked in the new morning.
Images of Robin's bo-staff clanging against Red X's wrist blades flashed across him memory, the brutal fight was recalled in a detailed fashion. Both fighters had countered their attacker, and the combatants were evenly matched.
"You really know how to handle yourself in a fight." Red X heard himself say, as he rubbed his still tender right shoulder, the bruise was going to be with him for some time. "I'll give you credit."
"I admire an opponent who holds nothing back." Robin's voice echoed, where he was viewed tugging at the rip in his shirt. "Now then, what is the message that Slade wanted you to give me?"
Red X opened his eyes, as the voices ricocheted across his brain, sounding like his mind was a deep canyon.
"Keep your friends close Robin. It's always the ones that you love, whom you end up hurting in the end."
A foul crow squawked across the landscape as it circled overhead, and the Xenothium Bandit tilted his gaze up at the lone bird. Like the disgusting scavenger living off scraps, a frightful realization gripped him that in a strange way, he was no better than that black bird, fighting to survive.
Red X had been on the constant move, evading capture from the authorities and superheroes from various cities. There was not one place he was comfortable in, and there was no job that settled his desires, of cashing in on a final big score.
The mission he reluctantly took this night was a very different matter. Xenothium was very reluctant to acquire do to its 'highly illegal' nature on the black market, and it was even harder to produce. The little known information about a large shipment having gone missing, and being replayed to the general public was that it was lost, when in reality it wound up in Slade's hands.
Or so Slade wanted the gun-for-hire to believe, but it was an opportunity he could not afford to abandon. When he did finally learn that the shipment was truly stolen, Red X made it his mission to seek the criminal mastermind out to arrange a deal.
The lawbreaker clad in dark armor brought his arms across his chest, and he squeezed his fists. Taking orders was not his forte yet, his options were increasingly limited and his supply of the rare crimson power source was dangerously low.
There was a time when he did follow orders to the letter, without question and he sought a better purpose in life. Everything drastically changed for the worse, where the unknown drifter would keep to the shadows to further conceal his own motives.
Tragedy had the tendency to rip a good man to pieces, and turn ethics and principles upside-down. Irregardless of the life you may have lived, when any person hits their lowest point, a change of epic proportions quickly unraveled around them.
A person can either force themselves to pick themselves up, and make new opportunities or be swept aside. There was no middle ground.
As he turned his head, Titans Tower was briefly spotted far away. The sunlight glistened across the glass windows about its colossal frame, while the warm temperature soaked up mostly all of the dampness around him.
"This is where Slade told me to meet him." Red X raised his shoulders, "His taste in ideal places is a puzzle on its own accord."
The glint of a robotic hand reaching for the sky was partially visible, sticking out of a pile of rubble, where Red X leapt down from his perch to enter The House Of Mirrors. As he walked across the empty theme park, the once remarkable ferris wheel lay in pieces, at the bottom of a giant crater.
An earthquake must have caused this, but then why did it only effect this place, and not the rest of the city?
Shrugging away the unnatural sights, of the empty cotton candy booths, of the Test Your Strength and bumper car rides, the bone chilling creaking of metal, it ever so slightly reached his ears.
Red X was the only person here, there were not even stray animals roaming about but the glimpses of a rusted horse's head on the Merry-Go-Round frightened him, as he quickly remembered that someone had told him to come here. This only meant, that he really was not alone.
A crumpled yellow poster tumbled by the young man's right shoe, where the image of a clown was painted on one side in solid white ink, as the mascot to the now forgotten park. As he looked beyond the bumper cars still frozen in time, The House Of Mirrors was just behind this.
The vibrant and colorful paint had long since faded away, as rust and filth was coated across the entire outer structure. Letters were missing as the railing leading towards the mouth of the building was broken down. The clear signs of a vicious struggle were scattered in different places, but it was more apparent that a falling-out may have occurred at this particular point.
A brawl between two opposing forces, that had smashed through walls and ripped down barriers lined his path. Streamers with flags that were strung across the many tents were drooping low, while the rainwater flowed down the triangular pieces of fabric.
The master thief stood at the entrance, looking in the maw of perpetual darkness as the mist drifted about him. A shiver ran up his back, while he could only ponder at what eerie things lurked in the shadows.
He pulled out his communicator from a side compartment of his belt, and he scrolled through the options menu. Destinations captured his eye where he clicked on the feature, and a small-scale map of Jump City glowed on the screen, as a black tinted S inside of an orange circle was blinking within the heart of the building he had approached.
"So-" Red X rasped while turning his attention back at the doorway. "You've chosen the most obscure and forgotten place of this entire area, very clever."
Putting the device away, he cautiously walked in while the darkness and fog consumed him. His payment was ready, he had accomplished all of his tasks and he was going to get what was owed to him.
There was a code of honor amongst mercenaries, Slade was no different and to break a pledge would only isolate the criminal mastermind from any future dealings, with others seeking employment options.
The splintered sunlight cascaded through holes in the roof and walls, allowing Red X's shadow to cloak him. The glowing eyes of rats flickered across the ceiling joists, while a nest of bats screeched at the intruder in their domain.
Decrepitude was the only way to describe The House Of Mirrors in its current form. The dank and iron scent whiffed through the air, the inside was in worse shape than the facade while mold and mildew was spotted along the walls, as animal waste was speckled here and there.
The tall mirrors reflected his image around him as he walked deeper into the unknown, and a sense of distaste in this funhouse caused his heart-rate to beat a little faster. Red X did not start out the way he was, he had a simple life and home, he had a family.
All of that was gone now, where the things he thought to be true were not as they appeared, just as the people he believed so strongly in, had created distrust. When anyone is abandoned and the truth turns out to be something far worse than you could have imagined, what would you do?
His backstory was not of a child friendly journey, where his father Willis worked as hired muscle for Two-Face, and his mother Catherine became deeply depressed due to their poverty and plight. After his mother suffered from a deadly overdose, and his father went missing due to a botched assignment, the young boy was left to fend for himself on the unforgiving back alley streets of Gotham.
Years later as he became a teenager, he learned that the family who raised him had lied, his biological mother was working in Ethiopia as an international aid worker, trying to make the world a better place.
Unfortunately, good people with honest intent can get lost in their own growing misfortunes, as Sheila had mounting debts and collections to pay for. The prospect of embezzling then selling medical supplies on the black market, gave a respite from the unforgiving collectors.
From one misfortune to another, down through the grapevine the crafty Clown Prince of Crime, quickly got involved in transactions with Sheila. From then on, things only got worse.
To have been raised as a child in poverty with no parental guidance, to know that the people you trust misinform you, as the last living member of your family that you wish to rekindle a bond towards, finds themselves in dire straights, the whole cloak and dagger routine of mystery and shadows becomes suddenly clear.
Footsteps bounced across his path as he approached the farthest room. He did not anticipate making even this much noise yet things were out of his control. Slade would know that his hired help was just outside of his conclave, long before Red X even approached.
As he walked around a bend, a red curtain was hung down blocking his path. He pulled it aside and lowered his body to gingerly sneak in. There, in the middle of the circular room and surrounded by shattered glass, a table resided.
Red X immediately halted as he twisted his head to scan the unwelcoming environment, for any signs that his client was around, only to realize he was still alone. A ray of light shined through a tear in the ceiling, generating a captivating effect around the platform with a briefcase upon it, as the promised payment was unguarded and waiting.
The silver titanium container was placed upright, with its handles across the top and the latches in place. Red X squinted his eyes while a strange vibe reminded him to keep on his toes.
The evasive bandit drew closer towards the table, the crunching of mirror fragments under his heels traveled across the open room.
"What game are you playing Slade?" Red X was directly in front of his prize, but he crossed his arms, "My instincts are screaming at me to run out of here, but then another part of me realizes, I do need this. That's why I took the job in the first place."
He stretched his hands out ready to grab the container, but his gloved hands suddenly stopped and rested upon the edges. He had gone through various illusive dealings with well known criminals before, yet the entire situation here was out of place.
There were no guards, there was no welcoming party to introduce him to his host, who was also absent. The feeling of being watched was growing more noticeable as he just stood in front of the waist high table, yet the obvious concerns of his nearly empty power-source was taking over all thinking.
Exhaling to release the bubbling fear in his gut, he moved his fingers along the tumblers that locked the briefcase. The numbers were all set to zero, yet Slade had given him the code following the incident at the bank vault. He clicked open the hidden snaps, and the latches sprung apart.
A golden glow emanated from within, a bit of sweat slowly trickled down his face under the mask he wore, as the pumping of his heart grew louder in his eardrums. Before he could take his leave of this accursed place, he had to be sure his payment was not a ruse.
While lifting the top of the briefcase, his eyes became wide as he realized only too late, his worst fears had been realized.
KA-BOOM!
The blast happened within seconds, he maneuvered his left arm across his face while turning his body away, as the violent shock-wave kicked him to the floor, at the other end of the room. Smoke rose about the crater where the table once stood, engulfing both the light and dark.
A sharp high pitched noise rung in his eardrums like a bell, where the eruption had momentarily jumbled his senses and blinded his sight. He shook his head vigorously to resettle the disorientation, while he felt without looking that his left shoulder was hit, from a thick wooden shard of debris.
Blood was dripping across his uniform, traveling down his upper limb and across his chest. The triangular piece was jagged like a saw blade, and it was a potent feeling of immense discomfort. He grasped at it lazily, the super close effects of the detonation was totally unwanted as he tried to pull it out of his body.
Getting a firm hold over the chunk of wood, was like grasping a handle to a sword. He let some time pass in order to prepare himself for the damage he would cause. More pain would be felt, but he needed to dislodge the shrapnel that was nailed into him.
Blood splashed across the left side of his helmet as he looked on, his hands shook and the hot sting spread down his entire rotator cuff, yet he tugged and shook while pulling the long and deadly sliver out of himself, inch by inch.
It was out, and he loosely grasped at the long shard in his hand. As he glanced down at the lethal object that was meant to be his reward, he hurled the blood soaked piece of wood to the far corner of the room, as his legs bent and he leaned his back against the damp wall. He began to breathe in and out, to bring his heart-rate back down to normal.
Red X clutched at his shoulder trying to numb the pain, when through the haze of dust and gunpowder, a shadow emerged from the entrance. The intruder's footsteps made him tremble, as the outline of a man was coming into focus.
{{ End Of Scene }}
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Reviews From The Previous Chapter:
VI Intelligence: "Dude, i just went through your chapters and all i can really say is that you are absolutely awesome! Thank you for your kind support really and although i had not reviewed much of your stories i can only say that right now you are rocking this stage! I was really delighted at the amount of people who are reading this and think, "WOW! What a show!" and seriously they are right in saying so! So Rock on, man and I'll read the next chapter!"
~~Any help I can give to a fellow writer, is help I will gladly submit. Act like a sponge, learn from past errors, and always strive for improvement. I'm just humbled, that people actually find my story, brings them a slice of happiness. That I can do justice for the Teen Titans I grew up watching. Who knows where it will take me?~~
Saffire55: "I love the depth and description! It feels like you are actually there. I feel like crying, it would have to be very painful for the Boy Wonder. That is truly sad. I wonder how Robin knows the girl. Hmm...anyway, update soon! :D"
~~I tend to see the characters acting the scenes out in my mind, like watching the show on television. Please don't cry, well, not yet anyway for Robin's news to the others is bound to be even more tear forming; and I'm planning on drawing that specific scene out further. The Boy Wonder doesn't know the young nurse, but the name Spears; her last name is famous throughout the medical community. He's heard of Spears before, but he has yet to meet either of them in person. ;-)~~
Scififanfreak222: "YES! FINALLY FINISHED IT! WOO! Sorry for my outburst :) That was sooo good! TMO, your writing has improved greatly since the first chap, as has your descriptive work and storytelling abilities. I love how you draw out Robin and Cyborg's rivalry, as they were said to 'butt heads' in the series, and it is a rivalry that I've never been able to bring into my stories. This story is really taking shape now, and I can't wait to read how it all pans out ... and the reactions of the Titans to Robin's news! :( Aww …" Thank you for the shout out to my comment and my stories! XD You didn't have to do that, really! I'm glad you think that my OCs are interesting, but your story is even better! I wish you luck in your further chapters and whatever else you write, as I'm sure it'll be awesome! :3"
~~I thank you deeply Sci-Fi. Your reviews have been a great help to me. ;-) Robin and Cyborg's stubborn competitiveness, for being team leader always drives a wedge between the team, on what route they should take. There are many ideas rolling around in my brain, the trouble is, trying to decipher what my mind thinks, and then to pick things to place down for you to read. The story continues to bring me joy, in knowing that you and everyone else are hooked in, with vast wonder and awe. {:-D~~
Dcfan100: "Great chapter! The story just keeps getting better and better! You never cease to amaze (in a good way :] )"
~~I find that crafting out the next chapters, are growing a bit easier. (Although the revision is a killer!) I am very glad my hard work, my drive to continue and the persistent depth within INNER DEMONS; continues to holds your interest. It would seem that the fruits of my labor, have planted many positive and hopeful seeds. You, along with all of my reviewers and readers, everyone I talk to, each person has helped to water these seeds within my brain, and given vast light showing me where I could grow stronger. I find endless joy in writing now, where as before, it was always a difficult struggle, a vast mountain to overcome. It still is, but I am truly at peace when I write. ;-)~~
Wolvmbm: "Great update to the story and nice way of playing catch up towards new readers. It feels like most of this chapter was focused on Cyborg/Robin and Raven's feelings with each other and the members of their team. :D Like Cyborg to ponder over the actions of his teammates and his history with them. For him to realize that while Robin may not show it, he does care about the others on the team, and he is also a leader, a stubborn one, but one that does know that sometimes the hardest choice isn't always the right one, but it's the only way to keep the remaining innocents safe from harm.
Or for Robin to realize the error of his decision of splitting up the team and leaving newcomer Falcon to his death. :(Which reminds me, where is Falcon anyway ? :(Or for Starfire to finally reached the inner person in Jinx, when she was at her feet of defeat. I must say, tense moment between Cyborg and Jinx, and interesting save by Kid Flash, to appear that quickly. :D I must say, there could be more from the Kid Flash/Jinx subplot when this is over, right ? :D And finally, for Raven to see how different she is from her teammates and how her relationship with Beast boy has grown from a crush to a full blown lover, and how different he was from Robin for while she and Robin maybe alike, it is Beast Boy who could reach into the real her both literally.
It's going to be surprising to see how he takes in her real feelings for him when he wakes up. :D Especially now that Terra's back. :D Please do keep up the good work upon such a great storyline like this one as I can't wait to see what you come up with next. :D"
~~You really nail down all of the major moments of my chapters, huh? You are right, quiet a lot happened, perhaps a mind-overflow of action. X-D Still, to compound everything as I have been doing, I think it may be of decent reading quality. As always Wolvmbm, your reviews are extra special for me. Everything is at stake for the Teen Titans. I am not even at the half-way point, but the tension is only getting started. Even I don't know where things will go fully. Everything sort of flows from one scene to the next. I may have started the story but like any good author, I have decided to let the characters take over.~~
Shac89: "Keep it up T.M.O you never seize to amaze me."
~~With the utmost of speed, and the persistent drive to continue in my struggles. I always want to do more, to please you and all the fans. {:-D~~
bk00: "Bro, have I mentioned how much I love you? By far this is the best chapter! I loved how you wrote out everyone's POV's in this one. The flow, the weaving in and out of scenes, is spectacular as always! You have everybody in this, which is sweet! And the whole part with Jinx makes sense now! Thank you so much for the Flinx towards the end, as well as Rae's realization for her feelings of BB! But *gasp* Falcon! NO WAY! He can't be DEAD T.M.O., he can't! Can't wait for the next chapter! In other news,you've re-inspired me to write (I've lost focus a bit) and will finish up Rocks and Redemptions. I hope your summer is amazing, and I hope to talk to you real soon!"
~~Wowzas; quiet the filling review, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed chapter 11, and I always find vast joy, in delving further into all of the characters inner selves. Well, the story is called INNER DEMONS for a reason. I think it was primarily for my new character Falcon, from earlier on. Originally, but as the story continued to develop, I saw the potential for so much more. Jinx I began to understand should be developed further than when I first put her into the mix. I began to broaden out the true reasoning of her in a rut, mainly, Kid Flash left her, thus causing her to turn bad once more. Now that the quick hero saved the dark sorceress, who knows what will become of their rocky relationship? But, it gives us hope, that Jinx has returned to the light once again. ;-) I'm humbled that I respired you to write. ;-)~~
Linzerj: "...FALCON, BB, TERRA, NOOOOOOOOOOOO! But, mainly ... FALCON, DON'T DIE! YOU'RE SO TOTALLY AWESOME! NOOOOOOOOO! Such ... such a good story ... that is beyond words ... and that is so very sad! WHY, FALCON, WHY? *sobs*"
~~Wow, I never thought my work would touch so many hearts, as it continues to do so. Please, hold your tears. Well, if you would like to shed some for Red X now, I think I might, for the things I have going. I honestly thought, that Falcon would be hated by many readers. I believe now, sympathy is due to him. He may have been harsh at the beginning, to the other Teen Titans but he had his reasons to be so "difficult." He was critically wounded doing a heroic thing, to save the city knowing full well of the risk, which he was putting himself into.~~
A/N Does anybody know the holiday that Starfire was talking about? When translated into English, what does it mean? "Gnikaerts Day!" Oh man, Starfire, you are too much fun to write for. {X-D] I hope to see all of you again in August. One of my favorite months of the year. Why Mr. Mighty? I have my reasons. ;-D Later day's to all of my loyal readers.
~~T.M.O~~