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 27 is here! The counter measures of so many things finally erupts, new heroes lend a helping hand, while Gretchen consoles Falcon. "Opportunities come but do not linger." -Nepalese-
Chapter 27 - A Rising Tide
Starfire lay flat on her back, both her arms and legs were spread apart and she could not move at all. She wanted to be with the others, yet now that the battle had ended and she had lost, everything around her felt to be dragging along at a snail's pace.
The desire of justice became tainted with vengeance, for retribution she became lost down the spiral of anger. It was the primary driving force, and any sense of things had become lost.
Fear had begun to swell within her, as her heart-rate thumped loudly inside of her chest. It was during this long and awkward silence, that the events continued to replay back to her.
The Tamaranean Warrior was horrified beyond any complete measure, and a tear traveled down her cheek. What it was exactly, that she was too afraid to think about, this fear caused her thoughts to suddenly drift to happier moments, yet she quickly found herself still laying in the same place.
There was no escape, and there was no waking up from this.
Through gritted teeth and clenched fists, she hated him. She was far beyond any feelings she thought she would be capable to experience, where all that she could feel at this time, was a mixed blur of regret and absolute hatred.
If only I could move! she thought to herself. What is he waiting for?
The foreboding shadow blocked out the sun, as the vile villain towered over her crumpled and motionless body. She tried to find any relief, any respite to the dread of what was about to happen. By dwelling on what had led her to the current predicament, it did buy her some time.
Slade had caught her unprepared as she rested upon the rooftop of the local hospital. The Tamaranean Warrior had decided at that crucial moment, when he had emerged from the shadows, that she had to stay and fight him; instead of running away.
To what places could I have run to? He came up here for a reason, and his challenge for battle was accepted. My Tamaranean principles dictated that I should fight.
She squinted her eyes shut, the world around her was nauseating and she felt like she was going to vomit up her breakfast. The deadly arsenal of weapons at The Master Criminal's disposal were near limitless. The smoke grenades had been mixed with something toxic, and an unheard of poison.
"The effects of the gas you inhaled during our fight, it will linger in your bloodstream for a time." Slade monologued."Long enough for me to do what I came here to do."
The poisonous fumes were so much more than a concealing distraction of a blinding white cloud only, to hide ones movements. The smoke grenades had been laced with a potent inhibiting drug, that when inhaled through the lungs the chemicals on the molecular level would interfere with the blood flow.
It would constrict any moment in the limbs, and a person's heart would beat faster and harder as it utilized the inner workings of a person's body, thus it caused the poison to travel faster and further unimpeded.
"In essence." Slade explained, "the poisonous fumes causes the intended target to go numb. Your body is fighting to kick out the toxins, but your very heart is pumping it through your circulatory-system even quicker."
The seventeen-year-old had been standing less than several minutes ago, out from the wheelchair as her left leg was finally healed. Then with Slade emerging from the corner, she raced to confront him head-on.
Slade's bo-staff had been destroyed, split in two by her powerful downwards strike, and it remained across the rooftop laying next to her. Being deprived of one weapon did not deter him in the slightest. His poisonous smoke grenades had done their work, and after feeling light headed in the middle of the rooftop, her legs buckled beneath her and she collapsed.
They were alone, where all of the vigor and righteous fury at everything that this destructive criminal had done to her and her teammates, it had finally come to a breaking point. It was a comparable feeling that any person might relate to, when for far too long an antagonizing bully that was merciless day in and day out, the punishment he would deal onto others would eventually become too much for the victim.
Crossing the threshold had at long last arrived.
If the noble heroes were caught on a bad day, then it would be anybody's guess as to what would happen next. What could they, Jump City's most proud and honorary saviors be capable to accomplish, if they were to succumb to their most primal states? This entire week had been one problematic issue after another, and they were all feeling the fatigue finally having caught up to them.
Nobody in the group liked where things currently stood, and the Titans were exhausted. They required a single day to recharge and heal, to rest and recover. There never was any chance or time for relaxation during critical upheavals such as this, and Starfire felt tears trickle down her face as she began to weep.
She now knew what part of the plan had always been, and her suffering was but the tip of that deadly iceberg.
Slade was twelve moves ahead of them, and he would not let up in his efforts to destroy his most dangerous adversaries. He was wearing each of them down one by one, and targeting them when they were most vulnerable.
"Oh, have you conceded defeat already?" Slade's familiar deadpan brought a quick stop to her weeping. "For all the training and strength at your fingertips, from the elegance and proud determination in your spirit to stop me, and all you have to prove from these long years of our countless battles . . . are tears."
". . ."
"It is such a pity. I was holding you with such high esteem." he studied her for a long moment before speaking again. "You, out of all the others Starfire, it was you who I always assumed was the most optimistic and hopeful one in the bunch. To rally the troops so to speak. Yet now that you are alone, with nobody to guide you or for you to look to, you have nothing to show me but tears."
"I am not afraid of you!"
Her unfortunate sobbing had abruptly ended, where she stared up at him with a venomous gaze, while he leaned over her.
Perhaps there is more that she can show me? Slade thought to himself, as a dark idea popped into his brain.
Today felt to be one of those really bad days, a day that a person could only dream to be done with. Starfire had hoped that time would just speed up to where blinking her green eyes would cause everything to have been just a horrible dream, a nightmare. How she longed to be in her room, to be with her friends and back home in Titans Tower.
She may not have been expecting to find herself here and now, but everything had come down to her.
The alien warrior was afraid at first, Slade was right about this but that notion of terror only had quickly become silenced into a pure detestable hatred. It was being directed against him, and partly against herself for having failed.
Now I feel what Falcon did. Now I know what he felt.
Starfire was not going to admit defeat. Not when the opportunity was here, for the moment to prove that her skills had far surpassed the earliest days when she had joined the ranks of her team. But what could she do, if she could not even move her body?
She had learned and grown up at an exponential rate over the course of a few years since arriving on Earth, that sometimes when Starfire looked in the mirror, she did not fully recognize who it was when she saw the reflection.
Her body had matured, she had already gone through the metamorphosis stage. It was similar to a degree, to that uncomfortable time teenagers of Earth call puberty. Now, she was very much a young woman in every sense of the word.
Slade was well aware of the differences in her too, and he wanted to see just how far things could be taken, as he was not dealing with just some random teenager.
Starfire was compassionate and caring, unlike the brooding and angst-y Grey Skinned Empath. The beautiful redhead was nurturing and proud as she always had been, but there was something else in her character that she was beginning to notice, that had become altered. She was no longer in a constant state of being timid about everything, or as terrified when it came to dealing with a threat as monumental as Slade.
Those earliest of memories flashed before her, and she recalled how young she had been. It felt like so long ago, and a great deal had changed.
It was no longer a trial run, the sporadic opportunities of childhood foolery had transitioned into a much more serious tone. Only at a few crucial moments in the past had things been so bad, that she and her friends sensed that all hope was lost. The day that Raven became the portal was horrible, but she was still with her friends.
Unlike today, she could only count on herself. She felt so small, so weak and pathetic to have fallen into the trap that Slade had sprung. She had no way out, and today was turning out to be one of the worst days she had ever experienced.
The Tamaraneans were an alien race, a people of great resilience and pride in themselves through mortal combat, and Starfire had endured a vast number of trials. However, she still worried and felt sadness when the threats were aimed on harming her family. With Slade having his eye set to torture her, she did not know what to feel.
What compelled me to face him alone? She asked herself.
While everybody was away, Beast Boy was still very vulnerable as well as Terra, and she could not just abandon them. Starfire had to stay as their only defense and bodyguard. This grave threat knew where her wounded friends were hiding, and if she could delay his efforts then perhaps, they would stand a chance.
Her bold charge that began the fight had started off so promising, she was entirely optimistic and the moment of victory was at hand when she witnessed her own strength, at breaking his bo-staff into pieces. That elation was all gone now. Slade was merely baiting her, and she had fallen into it.
For everything that she had learned, Starfire was still very naive in outmaneuvering The Master Deceiver in physical combat alone. Despite her aptitude and incredible prowess and muscles, aside from her superpowers she still lacked certain detective qualities that could have avoided the doom that had all but consumed her.
Now, she could piece together why Robin was so driven in his calculations, and why he spent endless hours away from the others, away from her in his room.
She thought that he was brooding, and to be fair in a certain extent he was. However, now she understand that he was primarily studying every detail of what had happened, and what could have gone differently in their missions. It was his job as their leader, to know what to do the next time before rushing into any battle.
"To have come this far against me, I must admit that I am very impressed Starfire. You are a worthy opponent but, like all the others that have tried before you, failure to defeat me is what you are known for." Slade's sinister voice captivated her.
"This battle is not yet over."
"It is over. You have lost."
He remained fixated on her, and his cold lifeless eye almost appeared to be undressing her, and she shivered in discomfort from this detestable thought.
No! Starfire thought. This can not be, this . . . this cannot be the end!
"You are probably thinking that this is the end." Slade's voice caused her eyes to blink open, revealing her mesmerizing emerald color. "No my dear, this . . . this is just the beginning of what I have in store for you."
"What you have in store for . . . me?"
It was true that there were many dark places in which the Criminal Mastermind could take things. Anybody with the darkest of souls, filled with pure evil could turn a very bad situation, into a far worse element of suffering. For anyone to be at the complete mercy of Slade, in a compromised situation and totally unable to defend oneself, this struggle was nothing less than the worst of nightmares. A bad dream that she desperately wanted to wake up from.
What is it that you want? What are you after?
The bombshell red-head did not like to ponder over the vile nature or impulses, or the raw hatred that can be so easily tapped into. She had focused on the rushed act of fighting him alone, and it had achieved nothing. So she turned her thoughts to other things.
Slade just stood over her not saying anything, but his left eye appeared to have a force of captivation that she could not break away from. It gave off a mysterious vibe of eagerness in anticipating what was about to happen, that this was a great and amusing pleasure to him.
He found a deep level of fulfillment in watching people in their lowest moments. To have tormented The Teen Titans, his arch rivals at every turn was almost intoxicating to him. With whatever he had done to Terra, the Tamaranean Princess was in for a fate worse than death.
Slade toyed with a strand of her hair before saying; "This is going to hurt."
Starfire winced as a tear traveled down her face. The delay in his actions made her heart beat even quicker.
Slade leaned in, his breathing through the black slits of his helmet was pouring against her face, as he crouched over her. She could feel his hand as it moved across her arm, inching towards her shoulder and around her back.
Her heart began to thump from a steady fast beat, to a much more rapid thudding.
"No!" Starfire pleaded. "Get. Off. Of. Me!"
"You were so young." Slade replied, and he held her chin. "You have grown so much."
"Get Away!"
He played with her hair for a bit longer, sniffed it and then he chuckled.
It was impossible for her to move, Starfire's mind was screaming at her to get up, to knee him in the groin. She could do nothing with her body, and yet he could do whatever he wanted with her.
If he so desired it, he could pick her up and drop her down to the city streets. She was unable to fly as she required joyful feelings to tap into this ability, and her energy felt to have been completely drained.
He could crush her windpipe with the constricting vice grip of his gauntlets, he could poke at the deeper things in her mind as he so fancied, and then there was still other instruments on the table that Starfire did not want to even think about.
Everything around her had become silent, and her ears focused solely upon her heartbeat that was slamming against her ribcage. She felt like it would burst through her chest, where the heavier vibrations shook her entire body.
The burning ire within her spirit wanted to continue the fight, however her body was totally limp and numb. The poison had done its work well, and she could only wait for the effects to dissipate.
The tingling pin and needle sensation when an arm or a leg falls asleep, when the nerves and blood vessels are pinched in the joints was how her entire body felt.
She had to do something and if all else failed, keeping him talking was a tactic she still possessed. Slade was a man that could work around this barrier eventually, but nothing else was working.
No. She thought. This will be a last resort and if I can just keep him talking, then it shall buy the others the time to reach me.
"You are a monster!" Starfire hissed while turning her head away.
"I may be a monster to you, but there is more to me than meets the eye."
He twisted her chin so that she would be forced to look up at him. He was well aware of her powers, and she squinted her green eyes with a tremendous hatred. Slade backed himself off of her slowly.
The Criminal Mastermind had not forgotten when she was knocked to the floor the last time, and she had used the lasers in her eyes to shoot him in the chest. While she may not have been able to move, some of her superpowers could still cause some difficulties for him.
What would Robin do? she thought to herself.
"What you and your friends have been fighting against, it is pointless to resist." rasped Slade.
"We will not give up. Not ever."
"You have a great passion in your spirit my dear, oh how I feed off of that energy. It is so . . . palpable. But it will not save you. The greatest asset of strength you possess, it comes from more than your friends. One by one, you are each coming to terms that you cannot defeat me unless you embrace it."
"What do you want?"
Slade paused for a few seconds. "You have the potential to be so much more, to accomplish things that you never thought possible. All of my goals, my purpose and the ultimate triumph I have been after these many years, it has always been about you."
"ME? To what are you referring?"
Slade lightly chuckled before answering. "You each have the potential, the darkness within to overcome so much, by merely embracing the raw hatred deep inside your bones and yet . . . you refuse to tap into it."
"Never." Starfire inhaled a deep breath. "Me and my friends shall never stoop to your levels."
"Pity."
His helmet turned and he was facing her again. He may have been a few feet away, but his shadow was just as terrifying as his outer appearance.
"I am afraid of you, no longer!" Starfire scowled at him.
He was back ontop of her, and he grasped her neck.
"Yes, you are." his fingers tightened. "You see, it is more than me that keeps you up at night. I know a great many things about you Starfire."
She gasped in horror.
"I can see it clearly as the sun in the sky." he continued his monologue while glancing up. "It is written all over your face. It is the very same look that Cyborg had, when he was trapped in the tunnel."
"Cyborg? My friends? What have you done?!"
He inched his way closer to her again, his movements were impossible to predict yet every time he moved, his body and shape would grow larger and more menacing, while his voice was slightly distorted to her ears.
Slade's left eye squinted. "You do not yet know? Of course not. Your friends went to thwart my efforts in the Gold Depository only for Robin, Raven, and Cyborg to fall into a deadly snare of their own."
"No!"
"I had been expecting them, predicting your team's every move. They are in quiet a struggle for their very lives. Time . . . never was on your side."
"Time?"
"Everything revolves around it." Slade deadpanned as he waved his right index finger in the air. "I can quickly do with you what I wish, but you must ask yourself this simple question. For what purpose am I talking to you?"
Starfire was perplexed. She remained stumped and totally silent.
"You are beginning to see it, can't you? The bubbling frustration now pouring over from these past couple of days, the anger, the debate within your very soul. You may not wish to admit it to me, but you must come to terms with it for yourself."
Starfire had managed to regain control of a few key muscles within her neck, she was not totally paralyzed as some of the effects were leaving her, and she leaned her head forwards a bit.
"What must I come to terms with?" asked Starfire.
Slade knelt down, he was straddling her and this immediately made her a great deal more uncomfortable. His menacing brown orb behind the cold and lifeless mask, it appeared to be burning.
"I am making you an offer just as I had for Cyborg, and Beast Boy before him. Join me, and your journey for vengeance shall be satiated."
"I will NEVER join you!"
"Perhaps you are not as strong as I first had thought?"
While a new lingering silence gripped them, a strange feeling of dread that had been gradually building within Starfire, that terror had suddenly expanded and caused her to tremble. Her body was in his hands like putty, and the one eyed villain appeared to finally be ready.
He pulled out a knife, he was going to cut into her flesh.
"Get away from her!" A strange and attractive feminine voice cried out.
Slade turned, only to be blind-sided by three sharp shurikens spinning through the air! While two of them missed hitting him, one had slammed into his shoulder-blade, knocking him off of the teenager. He dropped his weapon and was immediately disarmed again.
Starfire and Slade both adjusted their attention towards a section of the balcony that the spinning blades were sent from, and there on the ledge a young woman was standing. The black eye-shadow and makeup around her ocean blue eyes drew anybody in, and she was very beautiful.
Who is she? Starfire thought. She must have snuck up behind Slade, and while he was busy with me, this unknown girl decided to make her move.
"Well now, this is not what I was expecting." Slade arched his head slightly to the side, and he grunted while reaching behind to remove the projectile she had planted into his back. "Unless . . . ah yes, Robin sent you. Didn't he?"
He pulled out the ninja-star, grunting in pain and he held it in his hand, one of the edges was covered in a crimson color. He did bleed after all.
The new girl did not respond, and an uneasy silence gripped everybody.
The female warrior wore a long green jacket that had a golden serpent embroided on the back, and she had a dark red scarf draped across her chin and nose that covered her identity. Her piercing blue eyes narrowed behind the veil, while her long black hair was straight and it swayed about her shoulders.
The way her eyes were, and her petite height and silk straight hair revealed that she was of an Asian country's decent. The fabric across her face gave her a deeply mysterious vibe, that only revealed her eyes.
The unknown girl gradually stood at full height. She interlocked her arms over her bust, while the ends of her red scarf bobbed in the breeze.
Slade turned and was facing her now. "So, to whom do I owe the pleasure of our meeting . . . my brave challenger?"
She squinted her eyes as the sunlight partially blinded her, and she reached behind her to pull out one of her deadly katana's. She had two which were sheathed across her back.
"You have crossed the last line." the blue eyed ninja replied. The blade hummed as it was fully drawn, where the clean sharp metal gleamed in the bright afternoon sun. "My path is one of justice."
"Justice?" Slade scoffed. "To having crossed my path was a big mistake, you have no idea as to what I am capable of."
"Nor do you know of my capabilities."
"Hmmm. We shall see. Tell me girl, what do you know?"
"You are Slade, enemy of The Teen Titans, and a plight that has been allowed to fester in Jump City for far too long." The red veiled Japanese girl answered.
"So you did your homework like a good little worker bee, and you know who I am. All I ask, is that you at least tell me your name."
The very stern teenager loosened the joints in her neck, and a popping sound echoed. She was preparing herself for a brawl.
"All you need to know about me, is that my path is one of righteous fury!" she pointed the katana at him, and then she posed with the weapon high over her head. "You will not lay a finger on her or anyone else. So long as I breathe, I will bring you down. You wretched demon!"
Starfire felt a wave of elation overcome her, as reinforcements that Robin had promised, one of them had arrived. It was unclear as to who this mystery girl was, or why she was targeting Slade when she had? Any chance to recover with a new distraction on the field of battle, it benefited her greatly.
The Tamaranean Princess understood that some if not all customs of earthlings were totally foreign to her, and that some people prayed to God in their hour of greatest need. She was a little superstitious, and as Slade was leaning into her but a few moments ago, a part of her did prey to not be alone.
"Fury." Slade's eye appeared to curl as he stroked his chin. "Very well then. Shall we begin?"
(~)
Cyborg was looking up from the dirty narrow bridge, his body had been battered and his two allies had long since raced out of sight. Robin and Raven had hurried down the length of a side tunnel, and he could no longer hear them.
However, he did notice the relentless army that pursued after them, and the Robot Commando's bodies splashing against the water. It was a master stroke on behalf of the most wanted criminal in all of Jump City, the Teen Titans had been separated once again, and now the hunters were the hunted.
Damn him! Damn that man. Cyborg spoke in his head. Slade makes one big mess after another!
The gear-head had been distracted, and one of the long claws smashed into his hip, causing him to cry out as he stumbled, his balance was lost and he crashed backwards.
The White Monster had evaded the attacks that came towards it, and it had delivered nasty strikes of its own with its deadly claws. Some of the blows were blocked, yet others had landed against the African American like the one it had just delivered, where Cyborg's chest and legs revealed new and horrific long scars.
The blemishes and discoloration against the Titan's white and blue armor made the hero a great deal more frustrated. He detested not being one hundred percent himself as the body he had, was a replacement due to the unfortunate accident he had been in years ago.
Without the armor, there would be no possible way he could survive. It was his very life support and the essence of his mobility, where he was just a torso and head beneath the formidable and futuristic suit. Every time he moved, the servos and internal motors would hum and make little sounds, and he never thought he would miss hearing pure silence again.
While he truly detested his reflection, he was somewhat humbled by the fact that he was alive because of his robotic body. The parts and machines were painstakingly put together by his father.
The young man would never have met the others, or have superpowers and abilities had he avoided going to S.T.A.R. Labs that fateful afternoon. It was a gift to be alive, to have been saved from the ashes of despair and beyond the darkness of the unknown. But for anybody to be in a situation as he currently found himself, he felt absolutely useless.
What his body revealed to him, he was a twisted and horrific tragedy. He had died only to have been brought back to life through futuristic science and engineering from his father Dr. Silas Stone.
As he lay on his back, the tears in his brown eye blurred his vision. The red sensor that replaced his left eye did not have tear ducts, and so he could still see through it. He squeezed his fists as the hatred swelled up from deep inside, and he turned to face the daunting and far bigger enemy.
The White Monster did not speak, it did not say anything as it was unable to. If it could, Cyborg could find ways to make quips and jokes against it to keep up his spirits. Then he remembered that Cinderblock, Kyd Wykkyd, and even Plasmus were other villains that did not speak when confronted, and he shrugged his shoulders.
This fight was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life. The opponent stood over him with a great deal of pride, and Cyborg's options were not looking at all in his favor. To put it simply, he was out of ideas, the underdog and his energy was almost completely spent.
He did not know what could work against the shape-shifting creature, and he understood that it required the entire group to take it down.
The biggest Teen Titan grunted, as he swiped a streak of red away from his lips. In response, the towering android-like behemoth had erected itself to its fully upright position. This fight was far from over, and both gladiators were catching their breaths. Cyborg was plotting his very next action, while the White Monster was calculating the best way to end things now.
"It's been some time since someone offered me a challenge that was too hard to pass up." Cyborg squinted his eye after saying this, and his body felt a new course of electric energy, coursing through-out his limbs.
The White Monster did not answer. Its red circular sensors for eyes whirled and retracted wider, as it processed the final strike it would take to finish the bout against the young man.
Cyborg had been able to do something that nobody else could by themselves, that he had withstood the attacks for a brief while and he went toe-to-toe and brawled with the shape-shifting entity, a thing that was entirely a mystery to him and his friends.
He had traded places with his leader, so that Robin and Raven could disrupt things in the sewer, as the focus and complete attention of the faceless juggernaut would be stuck to him. The tactic worked to a point, but Cyborg had run out of other options, with what he himself could do to knock it out.
So if this was only part of Slade's plan, then the real question I should be focusing on, is what was the gold he took being used for? What is the nefarious scheme that he has cooking?
The sharp claws slammed down mere millimeters from Cyborg's head! He tucked and rolled to avoid the would-be-finishing blow, and he began to feel the sweat pour down his face. He grumbled and exhaled heavily, while he got back on his feet and wiped away the dampness.
"That was too close!"
Blaster fire erupted from below the narrow bridge. A number of sladebots had decided to stay behind, and they took aim at the eighteen-year-old.
"Oh, come-on!" Cyborg shouted as his voice boomed across the brick walls. "I've had it with these stinking robots, and their relentless shooting at me!"
He returned fire at the Robot Commandos, hitting a few of his targets as others leapt out of the way. It was during this intense moment of exchanging firepower, that The White Monster approached the hero and it slapped him in the back!
"Argh!" Cyborg cried out in pain, as sparks sizzled and popped from below his armpits and around his spine.
He was then picked up by his throat, and he had been tossed with a great deal of force and tremendous power with just one arm. He went slamming into the far wall, and he felt his head crash against the hard surface.
His whole body shivered. He was thrown to the far end of the bridge and he did not like giving up any ground. The challenger stepped closer once again, menacingly and unimpressed with the results of how his opponent was handling the battle.
"Is . . . is that . . . the best . . . you got?" Cyborg asked while panting for breath. "Huh tough guy?"
The White Monster tilted its head as curiosity swelled inside of its processing center, or what-ever it called as its brain. This destructive and impressive adversary was not entirely known. It was a mystery wrapped within secrets and deeper puzzles.
Cyborg really wanted to know why it was working for Slade to begin with, or how it came back into the picture at all? For some reason, the extremely hostile and muscular entity that shape-shifted became a bit more tense.
That's it Cyborg. Keep em frustrated and focused on me. I need to give Robin and Raven as much time as they can get.
Cyborg squeezed his hands and he brushed himself off. After taking a refreshing deep breath, he ran straight into the obstruction being The White Monster, and the two were grappling for dominance just like they had done in the beginning of their match!
This brutal tactic was the only thing he knew could delay for time successfully. He had to aggravate his opponent, force the enemy to strike and charge back into him, where when an opportunity presented itself, a person can use the challenger's own momentum and attacks against them.
"You don't talk much, do you?" Cyborg squinted his eye, and he revealed a cocky smirk. "Eh, that's alright. I kind of expected this to be a challenge, and so far all I see is a mindless drone sent to be an errand boy."
The very large destructor swiveled its head. It was clearly taking these words into account, where buried deep within itself it was having some level of conflict.
"Oooh. Is that what you are?" Cyborg continued to goad and mock his opponent. "Too bad. I thought you were supposed to be a real threat to me, but all I see is just another mindless goon who is too stupid to think or act for itself. Pity."
The White Monster squeezed its fists tightly around the Teen Titan's, clenching its muscles and cracking its neck in response.
That's it Cyborg. The teenager continued to monologue in his mind. Keep him focused on me. Man, I never would have thought a tactic from that little grass-stain would have amounted to much, but I do see why he does this. I got to thank him when I get back to the hospital.
Footsteps raced around the back half of the bridge. Cyborg turned and with his left hand out of the death-grip he fired his sonic cannon's blue beam at the Robot Commandos that had out-flanked him. Four of the targets were hit, and they crashed backwards over the railing and into the ice cold water below, as the other two turned and braced for cover.
"Persistent, I'll give credit where it is due." Cyborg said, and he tumbled out of the way from one of the long claws that slapped the floor where he was standing just seconds ago. "You and your buddies don't give up!"
Cyborg had backed away again, and he fired at the large menacing creature. It weaved its body away from the bright blue beam, and The Titan roared in frustration. It was aggravating to witness the ease in which the huge enemy was totally untouched.
Soon, he retracted his weapon back into hand form and he walked over to one of the crumpled body parts that lay strewn across the bridge. It came from one of the many sladebots.
"I was having such a nice morning and it all got ruined! First, by what went down at the hospital when it was supposed to be my best friend's birthday, and how Robin messed that up. Next by Slade and his lackeys in the heist . . . and now you had to step into the mix!" He interlocked his fingers as he did a few quick stretches. "If you thought I was going to go down that easily, then you've got another thing coming!"
Cyborg heaved the fragmented limbs at the massive challenger, who shredded the debris into confetti with its claws.
"That's a new trick. I don't remember you being able to do that before."
Something strange was happening this time around. Now, the red circular eyes began to spin very rapidly, and red lasers were directed at Cyborg!
"Hey! I don't remember you having that capability last time either!" he ducked and then somersaulted out of harms way, and the firepower was truly immense like Starfire or Superman's heat-ray-vision.
Cyborg tangled with the massive juggernaut but it only beat him down. Now that this new weapon system had been activated, he was going to be unable to take it down from a distance. He would need to get close and personal, and that tactic was proving useless.
It had the ability to morph and change its body whenever it came into contact with a solid object or any liquid material. The blue sonic blasts were something it could not mold its physical being with, and it dodged these attacks.
The White Monster was the ultimate and perfect weapon that was avoiding the Titan's firepower. If it had another weakness, it was unknown.
Cyborg looked back across the path, as he cowered behind a fallen pillar that had been sliced into fragments from the destructive crimson laser beams, coming from the creatures red eyes.
"Two can play at this game!" the Titan said back while firing away with his Sonic Cannon behind cover.
The shootout became extremely intense, but eventually the teenager's low stamina and battery level had finally caught up to him. His energy that was used by his weapon draining his power supply, it had now reached dangerous close to empty levels.
It shut off on him as his reserves kicked in, and smoke rose from the barrel.
"No, no, no! Not now!" The mechanic's hand returned back to its original form. "Great, now what can I do?"
"ARgghhh!" He was hit and the red lasers cut into his chest, knocking him backwards as he collapsed towards a section of a broken railing.
The hero had found himself grabbing onto the rungs, as the deadly enemy approached him. A long grey blemish was visible across his body, and sparks popped from the inside.
The firefight had reached its conclusion, the unnatural light humming noise that came from the internal mechanisms of both combatants slowly fizzled out. The warring parties were separated by debris and strewn android bodies, things that was the remnants of Slade's army.
As Cyborg scanned the destruction, he felt he would be nothing but pieces like the countless enemy droids, if his friends did not hurry up in their mission.
Dang it Robin. What the heck is taking you so long?
While the Technological Expert pulled himself up, he leaned against the railing not ready to concede defeat in his mission just yet.
I've got to press the attack. I need to keep this thing focused on me and not the others. What else can I do? I can't shoot him, and I can't beat him down.
Then out of the corner of his left sensor for his artificial eye, a blur moved out and then quickly back in the shadows. It was another person, and whoever they were, they were sneaking up behind the White Monster that was totally focused on Cyborg.
Cyborg shook his head. I am running out of ideas, and I don't have the slightest clue if that person is actually here to help me?
The bruised and exhausted Titan breathed in deeply to calm himself.
I can't beat him in a brawl, I can't shoot him and my power cell is running dangerously low. I need to recharge. My friends are all counting on me to keep this guy preoccupied for as long as possible, but there is nowhere else that I can take this fight. I can't retreat, and I can't just stay here.
Cyborg felt the world was getting even smaller, like he was being constricted and his heart was thumping at an alarming speed. He did not know what he could do where up to this point, the brawl was bringing difficult challenges yet it had remained fairly even.
"I will say this." The hero blinked and he kept his eyes locked onto his approaching attacker, ready to unleash a finishing strike. "You are just full of surprises."
The White Monster lifted Cyborg up by his arm, straining the young man's muscles and then reaching back with its free hand, pointing its claws forwards to generate a long spear tip, and inching it closer to the Teen Titan's neck.
The hero winced in momentary pain as he felt like his arm was about to be ripped out of its socket. He gritted his teeth and flashed a stern scowl at his conquering enemy that held him up like a trophy.
"I have something to tell you though." The gear-head chuckled lightly, and he refocused his burning rage through his cold stare, into the empty and alien-like monster's sensors for eyes. "So. Am. I."
Behind the villain's head, the silent shadow that had been inching his way ever nearer to the bridge had finally emerged. He swung the end of a cane forwards, and the blunt object made contact with the shape-shifter's cranium, causing it to drop Cyborg and defend itself from the new attacker.
As Cyborg reopened his eye, he could just make out a person wearing a long brown trench coat, the mystery person also wore a dark brown fedora as their hat, as a Rorschach mask that constantly changed black inkblots over their face concealed his identity. His hands were wrapped in white bandages acting as a protective layer of padding, something that boxers in training would do.
Currently, he was swinging at the White Monster with a great veracity and a truly wild manner to keep it off balance. The cane was his weapon of choice, and he swerved and dodged the incoming swipes like a natural gymnast.
He was incredibly flexible. Almost to a similar degree as the android creature he was dueling.
As the masked teenager twirled and spun, he unlocked his cane and a long straight sword was produced! He used the cane as a sheathe to block incoming strikes, and with his other hand he slashed and swiped towards the much bigger enemy, using the long blade.
Cyborg watched with a bit of confusion having formed across his face, as the new combatant had disrupted the duel.
"Who are you?" Cyborg asked.
"The name's Press!"
The fedora wearing teenager ducked low and he managed to slice at the lower calf muscle against The White Monster's left leg, which had caused it to suddenly back away. It healed as the ligaments and skin tissue reformed however, where he was right back at square one.
Press continued speaking in a determined gruff like manner; "I came down here because Robin had asked for help a few days back, so my friends and I answered the call."
The African American revealed a perplexed expression. "So he did make the call then? Why that sneaky, underhanded, self-righteous, spiky haired-"
"Cyborg!" The trench-coated young man deadpanned. "We can have the opportunity to catch-up later. Now, I think might be a good time to focus on the elephant in the room!"
"Sure thing."
The blaster fire erupted once again, as another wave of the Robot Commandos had funneled back into the long dark causeway below them. There were a variety of big and normal drones mixed together, and they were approaching both sides of the bridge with great speed.
Cyborg cocked an eyebrow higher than the other. Wait a second, why am I following orders from this guy now?
"Dang-it!" Press grunted in aggravation. "We're cut-off! Can't you use your arm cannon?"
"I'm tapped about out of juice. I need to recharge." Cyborg frowned and he ducked as the deadly barrage of incoming fire crashed above his head. "Hey how do you know about that, or me for that matter?"
The masked teenager slashed his sword across his foe's abdomen with one hand, and with his other he blocked the incoming swipes of the claw arms using the metallic scabbard. The White Monster relentlessly dodged the hits, and the new dueling party parried off.
During the clanging of weapons, a strange and unsettling new sound of various grates and valves was heard opening. This disturbance echoed down the multitude of dark and creepy tunnels in every direction, where the unnatural ruckus caught everybody off guard!
"We can talk about that later." Press spoke after glancing behind him, and then back to the biggest gladiator he had ever fought. "Right now, we need to get out of here! Where are the others?!"
Cyborg stood up as a brave sladebot bolted onto the bridge to challenge them alone, and the hero rammed into the enemy with his shoulder. The biggest of the Titans got back to his feet, and he turned to glance at the newest comrade who was now in the very same position that Robin alongside Raven had left him in.
"My friends headed off to the control room, somewhere up ahead." Cyborg answered.
A strange and rumbling maelstrom was heard, as the walls around the combatants began to tremble. Dust and cobwebs fell from the ceiling, as a hideous army of thick furry rats began to scurry along the walls, screeching along the way.
"I have a really bad feeling about this." said Cyborg.
"Tell me about it."
(~)
"No Alex, not like that. Like this."
Gretchen folded the piece of paper a fourth time, and she smiled while her fingers made fast work of the multiple stepped problem. For a six year old, she was very adept in truly complex artistic projects.
"Eh, I was never really good with arts and crafts. This sort of thing was more along the lines of what my sis-" Falcon stopped himself from saying anything more, as he leaned back in the bed.
The much older teenager's body was hurting. Rough shape was only a fraction of what he could describe the discomfort felt like, and it hurt each time he moved. His right lower ankle was still wrapped and elevated in the sling above the covers.
His left shoulder was tender to the touch, and he smiled at the child to conceal his agony. Her inclusion of him with her school assignment, it made him feel humbled.
"You have to do it like this. See. The part of step ten, it needs to mirror step five . . . like this . . ."
The Necromancer nodded in silence. He watched the brave little girl in her wheelchair, going over the way to build paper cranes.
She's really good at this. He felt his attention being drawn away, back to the window that revealed the city of Los Angeles. Remember, you were okay with this so just play along.
"You see." Gretchen spoke in her gentle voice. "It isn't very hard. Its all about following the steps in the book. Just do the same thing over and over . . . well, you'll get the hang of it."
"I am a slow learner."
Gretchen chuckled.
She held up the crane origami that was solid white, and she turned it over and pulled up the neck piece, folding the final part as the head came forwards and she gently flapped the wings.
"Wow. That's amazing! How do you do it so fast?" Falcon rubbed his shoulder.
Gretchen sighed, and she placed it onto his tray table across his bed. It was the fourth one she had made. "You can keep it of course."
"Wait, don't you need them for your project? I thought I was just going to help you, and not have it be the other way around?"
"It's alright."
"Gretchen, you said that you are trying to make enough so you can get your wish. Remember?"
The cancer patient bowed her head in the scarf low, and she quickly grabbed another small sheet of paper, folding the edges and turning something as simple and plain as a sticky note, into a very elegant artistic design.
"It will be okay." the six year old replied, then she looked up at him and smiled a very big grin. "I want you to keep that one."
Mr. Kennedy from across the room gave him a thumbs up sign with his right hand.
The seventeen-year-old was stunned as he held the delicate origami. Falcon enjoyed writing and drawing in his spare-time, to catalogue things on his journey and of the various people he had met.
He was not the type of person to be keeping little mementos or fancy trinkets mainly because he did not have anyplace to store things. Jotting things down and drawing sketches was more of his style.
Falcon was a wandering lone wolf for the longest that he could remember, and he did not want to pull anybody into his own troubles. But a small token of kindness reminded him of humility, and of certain emotions that he had strayed away from. There was also something about Gretchen that he could not rid himself of, and a part of him did not want to.
She reminded him so much of his sister, and for a few lingering seconds as he looked at her, her face in the light of the room played tricks with his memory. The glimpses of both girls intertwined in sudden flashes, and the next thing he knew he was back in his hospital bed.
Get a grip on your surroundings!
His thoughts began drifting again, as his belongings were back at Titans Tower, and he felt a strange sense that he had not expected. The team had taken him in, they gave him a place to stay and had offered him more than just friendship.
Where are you guys?
"So . . . um . . ." Gretchen's voice caused him to awaken. "What happened to your eye?"
"Oh this?" he raised his hand and stroked the black eye-patch. "I told you I was a pirate, right?"
Mr. Kennedy chuckled, and Gretchen made a pouting face.
Wow. Talk about a terrible joke. Falcon mocked himself.
"Well, you are a smart one. The truth is . . . I did something incredibly stupid."
Mr. Kennedy who was currently folding a few of his own paper animals in another corner of the room, from a frog, to a bear's paw, and he was now finishing some other paper animal had stopped. The twenty-year-old orderly soon found himself drawn back into the conversation.
"I can't tell you how many times I've heard that line before." The hospital staff member smirked, while he finished bending a triangular piece of the paper, and he placed a tiny origami horse onto the counter.
Falcon turned his attention from the older man, back to the window.
"I . . . lost someone. A long time ago." The Necromancer said above a whisper. "I lost more than I could bear and this . . . this is just a reminder." he stroked his eyepatch again.
"I am sorry." Gretchen spoke with compassion, and she reached out to hold his hand.
He pulled his arm away, to avoid contact with her skin. He began to rub his wrist methodically to make it seem like he had a cramp, yet deep down he knew what could happen if his bare skin touched hers.
"It's alright. It's like everybody and their mother has to know, exactly how this happened. Similar to when somebody breaks an arm or a leg and has to wear a cast. All anybody wants to know, are the juicy details of how it all happened."
The child in her wheelchair suddenly stopped what she was doing. "I know what that is like."
"To tell you the truth, I did not even wear this patch and when I woke up it was already on me. It all happened so long ago, when I was not much older than you. I must have gotten another scar across it from the place that girl found me in, that the doctors might have thought I only recently went blind in it."
Her eyes lit up with curiosity. She was not expecting to find anything of importance other than working on her pet-project, to take away their focus from the pain they were both in.
He breathed in through his nose before continuing. "The reason for my being in this hospital now, well . . . its because I was hurt. I was buried alive, beneath rubble and debris. I almost didn't make it."
"But you did." Gretchen beamed a very heartwarming smile at him. "And you are going to get well, very soon."
"I hope so."
It was almost surreal for Falcon, like he was looking into a dream. From all the things that were going on and here he was, the peaceful atmosphere and friendly companions were making him think this was not reality.
To be talking with this young child who was battling a very advanced and a highly crippling illness, where she did not seem at all disturbed or sad about her own situation.
It was a nasty form of cancer that had a high mortality rate, and her chances did not seem good. Being that she was already so far into her medical treatment, it was only reasonable that the girl would find a brighter spark in life, over most people.
Huh. It tends to be the ones with nothing left to lose, that find the most captivating spark that everybody else is so ignorant of.
Gretchen had a very motivating and uplifting spirit, and she was so focused on making the paper cranes that she had managed to complete another one in the short span of silence that lingered between them.
"People often give me weird looks." the six-year-old found her courage to keep the conversation going. "I just ignore them."
"You are very strong." Falcon commented. "Not many people can handle that sort of thing. It's the sympathy thing that always gets to them."
Her eyes slowly lifted and she found herself transfixed onto his brown left eye. "I know what that is like too."
"Well, nobody needs any reason to feel weaker or less of a person because of that. Because I'm blind in this eye, it only makes me see things in the world with a bit more clarity, rather than having both eyes shut."
"Hmmm." Ryan Kennedy cleared his throat. "That is a fascinating quote."
"Mr. Kay." Gretchen yawned and she stretched her arms behind her head. "I am feeling a bit tired."
The Hospital Orderly sat up from his chair, and after stretching his back he approached the young girl. "Hmmmm . . . alright." He placed his hands onto the back of the wheelchair before finishing his sentence. "I think it's time we gave our friend Alex here some rest, and that you should be getting some sleep as well."
Falcon yawned, it was far into the afternoon hours and he had been asleep for the past couple of days, yet the reflection in the bathroom mirror showed that he had dark bags under his eyes.
"Funny, I was asleep for so long, but I am pretty tired now." The Shadow Manipulator rasped. "Perhaps we can pick up with this tomorrow. Would you like that?"
"Really?" Gretchen joyously cheered. "You mean it?"
Falcon smiled a big and heartwarming grin. "Of course. Come in when you feel up to it, my door is always open to you."
"Well that is very thoughtful of you Alex." Mr. Kennedy chimed in. "I do not want you to feel overcrowded or-"
"Nonesense." The teenager held up a hand to silence him. "It's not like I have anything else to do, and I'm not going anywhere because of . . . well . . . you know." he gestured towards his leg.
"Oh thank you. Thank you." Gretchen leaned in and she wrapped her arms around him as she embraced him in a hug.
The older teen was extremely careful about skin contact, and the medical aid in the room pulled her away. "Easy now Gretchen, he only just woke up and his body is very tender."
The girl glanced up at Ryan Kennedy, then back to Falcon. "I understand. I . . . I will see you tomorrow then?"
"Sure thing."
Falcon gave a quick two-finger salute, and he watched as the unlikeliest pairs of cordial guests, exited his room.
(~)
Slade had evaded the red scarfed ninja warrior for as long as he could, and the two had exchanged heavy hitting blows at surprisingly even pace. His armor shielded his body from her deadly curved Samurai Katana that she slashed downwards at him.
The unexpected timing of reinforcements was not at all in his calculations. For Starfire's helper to have arrived this early, and to be a person he had never come across, these things were very distressing to The Criminal Mastermind.
Every aspect with all of his carefully orchestrated plans were combed over and looked at, with an even closer inspection. To find himself without any intel or backstory on this new challenger, it required him to return to his lair and conduct further research.
So Robin, you had in fact made a move that has caught me unprepared and flat-footed. Touch'e. Slade monologued in his head.
"If you think this changes anything . . ." Slade spoke out-loud; "You couldn't be more wrong."
The two fierce warriors circled around the other, searching for an opening and when one fighter would strike, the defender would block the predictable move and unleash a barrage of swings and kicks of their own.
The fierce bout had gone on for what felt like a solid fifteen minutes, where the actual time was uncertain and lost to all parties. Fatigue had settled in for the two fighters who were sweating and panting heavily, as the gladiators were trying to put an end to things with their own finishing blow, that was constantly deflected.
It was back to the drawing board for a new attack.
Slade may have had a superior brain, along with a clearly much broader physical stature compared to the young crimson scarf faced girl, however she was totally unpredictable and a threat because he had not counted on stepping into a new fight. Her smaller stature allowed her to move about him with ease, and she was impossible to catch.
Similar to when a larger and more menacing battleship is hunting down a destroyer on the high seas. The massive warship may have countless more guns, it was far bigger and could unleash tons of damage at an unprecedented rate, yet it sacrificed its maneuverability for the thicker armor plating.
The destroyer on the other hand, was such a small class and it was much less intimidating however it was used primarily for hit-and-run tactics, and it could run circles around the bigger threat.
Starfire's friends would get back to her eventually, yet she still had no idea as to what was going on in their plights.
The White Monster that shape-shifted, this android creature that Slade utilized within the sewers to counter their efforts of escape, it would only allow him a small window of time to make his move on her.
He had pinned the Tamaranean down, she was out for the count and he was ready to do what he pleased with her however, even this was thwarted by an uninvited guest. Just as Cyborg had been rescued premeturaly.
This was becoming a recurring annoyance, and Slade did not like it when things did not go according to plan. It did not matter how many obstacles that he put in front of them, their persistence and their dogged efforts, their bitter fighting to the end only fouled-up with his ultimate triumph.
The Teen Titans obliteration would not come today, but the seeds of their downfall had already been planted. He was preparing for the long war, and this battle would not be his, but the attrition was wearing them all down.
This girl with long jet black hair was doing everything in her powers, to keep Slade contained on the roof. Her primary concern had been to act as security for The Teen Titans, and after having found Starfire collapsed and unresponsive, with Slade towering over her, she had arrived just in time.
The one eyed villain squinted at the sword wielder. He was always so close to achieving victory, and seconds before he could reach the highest peek, it would inevitably be snatched right from his clutches. He had to change his tactics.
"You are a formidable warrior." Slade rasped. "Your skills of kenjutsu are impressive, but lacking in tact."
"Be silent, demon!" she hissed at him while twirling her sword and holding it high above her head. "You know of nothing but the way of violence, and through me I shall bring you to justice. Surrender, and I will not be forced to take you by the will of my blade."
"Well now, this is interesting. You honestly believe that you are of any capable level to take me down?"
She preformed another elegant display of her craft, slicing through the air and re-centering her concentration onto him, not once breaking eye-contact.
"Amusing. But this is not a dance!" he rasped.
Slade quickly uncoupled six hidden shurikens with his left hand. The small projectiles spiraled at an alarming speed directly at the girl, and she deflected each of them with a profound grace.
As she blocked the incoming fire, Slade lunged in with a kunai, and he began to thrust and make sudden jabs at her face!
She lowered her head, bobbing and swerving her entire body out of the path from the much shorter weapon. Utilizing her longer blade, she slashed back at him. Now these two parried off just as he and Starfire had, when they first began their duel.
Slade kept things tight to his body, so it would make it harder for her to use the full length of her sword to any advantage. Their weapons connected multiple times, the metal clanging and vibrating across the rooftop of Jump City Central, as sparks scattered whenever they would slam their blades into each-other.
All this time, Starfire remained unable to move or crawl, she could only watch from the sidelines as the blue eyed gladiator was fearless in her efforts.
She has clearly been trained. Starfire could hear her voice echo within her head. Who is she?
"You have much pride in your fighting style." Slade mocked her. "But your footwork is sloppy."
She looked down only seconds too late where he tripped her. After she fell backwards, giving out a disturbing grunt of pain, she kicked her legs like a helicopter propeller to keep him at bay. Then, in her next act she pushed herself back onto her feet, and she was breathing very slowly due to the intense workout.
"You're not putting out your best efforts." Slade stood up from a somewhat crouched position. "If you want to defeat me, you need to give me everything you've got!"
The ninja squinted her eyes, the burning rage of hatred that the Tamaranean alien had shown him moments before her arrival, this powerful energy was now visible in her face. It was of disgust and absolute rage that could only be soothed through victory in battle.
"This. ends. NOW!" she cried while charging into him.
He simply flicked his fingers at her, goading her to make the next move.
The fight for blood was insatiable, as both parties were determined to make their opponent suffer. The attacks would mostly be blocked and then countered against.
Back and forth the bitter war between these two waged, where this was their first meeting, but the way they fought seemed like they already had a rather dark history between them.
Slade's Kunai was handled with such precision and tact, and he would pull her into him with his unarmed left hand. When he raised his dagger, his entire body would flow with the sweeping motion to carry the ultimate damage, utilizing the entirety of his weight into his attacks.
The female shinobi spun in place. Her hair would whip around and she would quickly stagger her feet to find her balance, and force him backwards a few steps. In one instant, she almost had her throat slashed, yet she ducked low and avoided the incoming swipe of the thicker knife. Fortunately, only a few strands of black hair were cut.
With her back arched like she was playing the limbo game, trying to bend her torso below a bar, the red scarf faced sword fighter swung her katana forwards, and she had managed to cut into his left shoulder, as he had overcompensated for a killing strike!
"Impressive. You are fast." Slade's gravely voice rasped while he clutched his arm. Blood began to drip down his limb, and it coated his fingers bright red.
"This is only the warm-up."
Slade glanced down at Starfire who lay on the ground, and then his attention was drawn to the new girl.
"It just might be."
"Time's up!" she rushed back into him after saying this, with their blades connecting on every hit.
The two had violently crashed their opposing shoulders into each other, and the superior move for dominance constantly shifted between them. In one instant, things appeared like she was going to get another cut in his armor, but he was surprisingly agile for his age, and her long curved blade was blocked closer to the hilt by his kunai.
He did slice into a portion of her scarf and had landed a long scar across her right cheek, drawing blood. She had leaned back a little too slowly to avoid it this time.
"Ah, a tit for tat my dear." Slade studied his weapon that had droplets of crimson spattered on its edge.
"Bastard!" she hissed while touching the stinging wound.
"Hmmm. You have a great deal of training, but from what I have seen, there is still so much that you have yet to learn."
"Don't lecture me!"
"I thought of many things from the instant you crossed my path young one, and from everything that I may have been so worried about, now that I know your weakness, I can easily exploit it."
Her ocean blue eyes became wide and she gasped. "You know nothing about me!"
"Amusing." he chuckled. "You are so determined to stand and fight to the bitter end, and while I would like to oblige your desire here and now, unfortunately this is where we must part ways."
"What? You won't get away!"
"You don't seem to grasp the deeper meaning to what I have just said." Slade tilted his neck before continuing. "This meeting is over. But don't worry, I always leave old and new friends with a parting gift."
"No!" Starfire cried as she knew what would happen next.
BANG!
There was a blinding flash of white light, and smoke began to rise and expand, confounding everybody. The Master Deceiver tossed down multiple smoke grenades after the flash bang, and his silhouette gradually vanished behind a mist of crimson.
The ninja took a defensive pose, and she waited for her challenger to strike from a different angle. As the smoke finally cleared, he was nowhere to be found.
"Blast!" the Kunoichi shook her head. "I should have known he was going to do that."
The Japanese teenager sheathed her katana, and she hurried over to Starfire.
"It's over now, you're safe. Hey, are you alright?"
"Ugh . . . my head." Starfire answered lethargically.
The blue eyed girl helped the Tamaranean sit upright in the crook of her left arm. Starfire in response blinked her emerald eyes a few times, as the disorienting effects from the poison was steadily wearing off.
"Take a breath, you are safe. He can't hurt you anymore."
"Thank you, new friend." The Teen Titan smiled in gratitude, as she felt her strength returning and she was helped to a kneeling position. "My name is Starfire. What is your name?"
"Kimiko."
The ground suddenly shook, and heavy footsteps interrupted the meeting.
Wait, he said that he was leaving with a parting gift. Kimiko deadpanned in her mind.
More heavy footsteps echoed, and the image of a dinosaur came to their thinking.
The two slowly turned their gazes towards the far end of the roof. Having climbed over the ledge, the great behemoth of awesome power and brute force interlocked his arms. His scowl was horrifying, and there did not appear to be any humanity within him.
There were multiple scars and markings cut into his body. The previous engagements against the other heroes had each carried a reminder of his failures. He was not a foe to be confronted without some serious thought, of ones own actions.
"Well this can't be good." Kimiko sighed as she was focused on the juggernaut.
Starfire became slack-jawed, as the terrible criminal had emerged to protect his master's escape. The Titan felt her pride begin to sink, as she spoke the name of one of the team's fiercest of opponents.
"Cinderblock!"
{{End Of Scene}}
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cloudkid: "Hi there :) I just caught up with your story and I love it! Your writing is fantastic and I'm so excited for the future chapters! So many unanswered questions :0 Till next time xx"
~~Thank you for checking out my story, and for writing a review. Yes, lots of unanswered questions so far, but it helps to build a broader story I think. I wish more of the readers did what you have, where it can be a difficult thing for me as a writer, to judge what people are enjoying, and what the fans want more of? The site only reveals a few analytics and stats, but the feedback from the readers, it does have a MASSIVE impact on things. Thank you for the very kind words, I am just as excited to see what happens alongside you, and everybody else.~~
Author's Note:
A very big shout-out goes to my enduring friend Scififanfreak222! The new characters that are coming into this story, at this critical moment would not have been possible, without her support and vital effort. The input she gave me, with her Original Characters such as Kimiko, and Press, there is always so much that goes into things. There will be two more characters of hers making an appearance in the coming chapters, and while things have changed around a bit, from a few ideas that both she and I discussed, I am doing the best that I can here, with what she gave me to work with.
Through everything, this story would not be where it is today, without her, and everybody else (that's all of you guys and gals) who have subscribed, wrote reviews, and left me amazing messages of support to keep pressing forwards with the exhausting craft. Thank you!
This monster of a telling that I have been writing these many years, none of it would be where it is today, if it were not for the people whom I mention at the top of every chapter. Without them, (and all of you faithful fans) I would have thrown in the towel long ago. So, to everybody reading this, and to all who have encouraged me on, take a bow! This story has so much potential, and with the continued enthusiasm on your behalf, it will only expand to greater heights! {;-)
Happy Halloween everybody! I'll be the one handing out the candy where I live. Until next time, thank you to all!
~~T.M.O~~